In 42 of the 55 murders due to gender violence since the beginning of 2023, there were no previous complaints: neither lodged by the victim nor by the environment. But as the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, warned yesterday, "women cannot be burdened more, who, in addition to experiencing a terrible situation of daily terror, also have to report". The Central Government wants to put the focus on families, friendships and the neighborhood after verifying that the environment of the 22 murdered women was indeed in the case of the abuse they suffered, but no one reported it.
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, received the head of Equality yesterday at the headquarters of his department to explain the operation of VioGèn, the protection system for victims of male violence, after the minister said a few days ago that it was necessary to "improve" and "reinforce" it. Statements that caused astonishment in the Interior, according to ministerial sources, since it is considered a world reference system. In 2018 there were around 29,000 women registered in the system, while now there are 50,300. And five years ago there were 28,000 public servants involved in this tool, and currently there are around 43,000.
What came out of the meeting, in unison, was the need for victims' environments to be "proactive" in reporting gender-based violence, according to the data analysed. Redondo announced that the ministry he leads will launch a specific campaign to encourage communities to report and Marlaska stressed that it is society's responsibility to report gender-based violence.
The minister addressed both the victims and those closest to them: "Let them trust our forces and security forces, because many times it is the only way to save life".
Despite the data, Interior sources indicated yesterday to La Vanguardia that, since the so-called Protocol 0 was launched - which allows since 2012 to investigate gender-based violence without complaints from the victim - 30% of cases new ones that enter the VioGèn come from this mechanism.
The Minister of the Interior also reported that 13 of the 55 fatalities this year had an open case in the VioGén system, of which he warned that "it is not infallible". Five of these cases were active – three, with protection orders – and eight were inactive, either because when the crime happened the case had been closed or the assailant had been acquitted or had already served his sentence.
Afterwards, the Minister of the Interior specified that these last three circumstances are not a condition sine qua non to deactivate a procedure in the system, since "subsequent circumstances must take place", which are analyzed by the security forces and bodies of the State (FCSE), to deactivate it when it is understood that "no risks are present". However, he said that the "inactivation criteria" of the cases registered in the VioGèn will be reviewed to reduce the risk that may exist for the victims.
The 62-year-old woman who was found dead yesterday with signs of violence in Nogueira de Ramuín (Ourense) was also not in the VioGen system, as the minister pointed out. The Civil Guard, in charge of clarifying the case, has all hypotheses open, so that no motive for the crime can be ruled out.
Redondo emphasized that the rise in femicides that have been recorded this year is being evaluated, although in the press conference he showed some graphics to ensure that the resources and measures to fight against male violence have been reduced by 20 % murders in the last 20 years.
