Barcelona wants (and claims) to be a safer city for women. Or at least that is what the majority of the more than 13,500 readers who have already given their opinion in the Tu Opinión Cuenta macro-survey, which La Vanguardia is running to coincide with the next municipal elections to collect the opinions of its readers on the main problems of the Catalan capital and the present and future city model.
Specifically, six out of ten Barcelonans who have participated in the survey so far subscribe to the statement that Barcelona "is not a safe city for women", for which reason they send the order to the next mayor or mayoress to increase the conditions security for them. This not only involves police and judicial measures, with powers also in other administrations, but also due to the type of urban planning or details such as street lighting at night.
Precisely, in the latest X-ray of criminal acts in Barcelona, with data collected during 2022, it was noted that sexual violence in the city had increased by 27% compared to 2019. For now, judging by the majority belief of Since Barcelona is an unsafe city for women, the Plan Against Sexual Violence launched in the city should still bear better results. During the past year, 339 devices were made in the field of night, with patrols and promoting safe itineraries for women. There were also 492 contacts and five presentations in the nightlife sector to inform and train workers, private security guards, access controllers, hoteliers and taxi drivers.
The concern of the people of Barcelona for safety is evident and also goes beyond the group of women. And it is that insecurity (24.8%) is the problem that worries the most, ahead of cleaning (15.8%) or access to housing (7.6%), according to the Municipal Barometer of Barcelona itself. . Therefore, the opinion of the readers of La Vanguardia is in line with the general assessment that the people of Barcelona make about the state of their city.
In another of the issues raised in the Your Opinion Counts macro-survey on security, there is almost unanimity in calling for more police presence to fight against robberies. 90% of the opinions collected demand more police to stop this problem that also generates social alarm. Not in vain last year 11,188 violent robberies were reported in the street and 1,763 delinquents were arrested. Another fact is that thefts represent 49.06% of all criminal acts. Specifically, 42% of thefts happen in public spaces, 20% in transport and 31.5% in commercial establishments, according to data from the Junta de Seguretat.
Insecurity has been present in the speeches and proposals of the four candidates with the best chances of reaching the mayoralty in the next elections.
The mayoress of Barcelona and candidate for re-election for Barcelona en Comú, Ada Colau, has recognized that security is the main concern of citizens, although "we have fulfilled an important commitment, we have incorporated a thousand more agents and now there are 3,500 agents, We have improved coordination with the Generalitat, which had been affected since the time of the process, and we have opened a second police station in Via Laietana, in addition to advancing on important protocols such as sexist violence".
For his part, the Junts candidate, Xavier Trias, considers that insecurity in Barcelona is especially serious because "it attacks and weakens equal opportunities and social cohesion" and "particularly affects women".
With regard to the socialist candidate, Jaume Collboni, he once again trusts the current Deputy Mayor for Security, Albert Batlle, for his list, ahead of the municipal elections on May 28 in Barcelona. In addition, he also has the incorporation of the delegate of the Spanish Government in Barcelona, Maria Eugènia Gay.
Finally, the ERC candidate for mayor, Ernest Maragall, has assured that he will create the figure of mayor at night to guarantee the proper functioning of the city at night. In addition, he has proposed setting up a court in each district with the aim of acting "with diligence and agility" in matters of security.
