Today, International Women's Day, is a good opportunity to continue denouncing the violence to which women are still subjected. The numbers say it all. Last year in Catalonia, complaints of crimes against sexual freedom increased by 33.58% compared to 2022, according to figures from the Mossos d'Esquadra. A total of 3,759 were submitted, affecting 4,027 women (the gap between the two numbers reflects the fact that more than one person may be affected in the same complaint). Complaints for male violence within the couple (gender violence) also increased, by 10.7%, until 16,789 cases were registered in 2023, for 15,154 in 2022. The Catalan police state that these data do not necessarily mean to say that more cases of gender-based violence are committed today than in the past. Rather, they identify it with a greater sensitivity and empowerment of women, which leads them to report, and better police detection and prevention tools.
A total of 17,051 women were victims of sexist violence within the couple in 2023, which represents a 9% increase compared to the previous year. Once again, the gap between the number of complaints and the number of victims responds to the fact that in a single complaint there may be more than one person affected. "Reporting continues to be a factor of protection and, therefore, it needs to be promoted", pointed out Inspector Montserrat Escudé, spokesperson for the Mossos d'Esquadra. In this sense, he welcomed the fact that complaints have increased as a result of the "empowerment of women". On this, he wanted to emphasize the idea that last year there was no increase in sexist violence, but rather that complaints have increased.
Within the scope of the family (for example, a grandson assaulting a grandmother), a total of 4,508 victims were registered, up 6% compared to 2022. This total number of victims translated into 3,843 complaints , which represents an increase of 7.1%.
Of the total number of victims treated for gender-based violence (that is, in the sphere of the couple), 95.7% were adults (16,320), while 4.3% were minors (731). The age groups with the highest incidence are between 31 and 40 years old (31.3%), followed by between 41 and 50 (24.6%) and between 21 and 30 (24.6%) .
In terms of arrests, the Mossos made 7,676 arrests linked to gender violence, which represents an increase of 11.3% compared to 2022, when 6,897 were made. Of the total number of detainees, 32 were minors, three less than the previous year, and 7,644 were adults, which translates into an increase of 11.4%. The age group of the perpetrators of these crimes (investigated and arrested) with the highest percentage is between 31 and 50 years old, and they represent 60.1% of the total. The average age of adults who engage in this type of violence is 38, while that of minors is 16.
Regarding gender-based violence in the family, 1,677 people were arrested, which represents an increase of 8.82% compared to 2022.
There was also an increase in femicides. It went from 9 in 2022 to 13 in 2023. The average age of the victims was 39.5 years, and in 46.2% of cases their environment was responsible for the situation they were suffering from. "We must continue working with this environment without criminalizing it, it's key", pointed out Escudé. 38.5% of the victims had minor children. The rest did not have one or were of legal age. Likewise, in 30.8% of the cases the victim had broken up the relationship or had expressed that he wanted to break it up - "this is a very clear indicator of risk", emphasized Escudé -, and in only 7.7% of the chaos the victim had filed a complaint against the aggressor. None of the victims had judicial measures or police protection.
