Almost three million women have suffered physical or sexual violence throughout their lives in Spain

Demonstration against the ruling of the La Manada case through the streets of Pamplona in 2019.Gari Garaialde

13.7% (2,802,914 women) of women aged 16 or over residing in Spain have endured physical or sexual violence throughout their lives from any person - current partner, past partners or people with whom they are not has had a relationship - according to the 2019 Macro-survey on Violence against Women, presented today.

The consultation, which has been carried out every four years since 1999, includes for the first time questions on other forms of violence suffered by the female group that allow the Ministry of Equality to conclude that one in two women (11,688,411 million, 57.3 %) have endured violence for the fact of being.

This last figure is global and ranges from more or less severe behaviors such as leering, touching, sending images to intimidate,

or continued harassment, among others, of violations.

The survey was conducted with 9,568 women.

Of the 2.8 million abused women, 6.5% (1.3 million) have suffered abuse outside the partner by people with whom they do not maintain or have had a relationship and 3.4% have happened to them in childhood (before turning 15 years old).

2.2% (453,000 women) have acknowledged having been raped at some point in their life.

Almost 100% of women who have suffered sexual violence say that the aggressor was a man, many times (49%) it was a friend or acquaintance.

The problem is exacerbated due to the few complaints.

Only 8% of the victims of attacks and harassment outside the couple have reported the attacks to the Police, the Civil Guard or the Court.

In the case of raped women, the reasons that the majority adduce for not going to the institutions are shame, being a minor, fear of not being believed and fear of the aggressor, in that order.

In the cases that occur within the couple, it is not reported above all "for having solved it alone or not giving importance to the violence suffered or having ended the relationship."

To all this, the psychological consequences dragged by the victims are added.

The study specifies that six out of every 100 women who have experienced an episode of sexual violence have had thoughts of suicide, a figure that 38% suffer in rapes.

Given the data, the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, has recognized during the presentation of the macro-survey this morning, that “it is evident that we need to make a severe self-criticism.

We need concrete public policies, because we are aware that the institutional response is insufficient. "To do this, it has announced the development of a National Strategy against Sexual Violence for the period from 2021 to 2025 that will complement the State Pact and will place special emphasis on prevention, comprehensive protection of the victim, reparation and attention to children.

The children of couples in which there is violence are one of the great concerns.

According to the survey, 54% of women who have suffered physical, sexual or emotional violence from a partner and had children at that time affirm that they witnessed or heard what was happening.

The consultation also reveals that 1,678,959 minors live in homes where the woman is currently suffering some type of violence in the partner.

The study introduces sexual harassment, which 40.4% (8,240,537 women) have experienced at some point in their lives.

Its prevalence among women between 16 and 24 years of age is much higher than that of 25 or more years: 60.5% have suffered it on some occasion and 34.7% before reaching 15 years of age.

The data on stalking or repeated harassment reveal an incidence of 15.2% (3,095,357 women).

📣 We present the Macro-survey on Violence against Women, the most relevant statistical operation on sexist violence in Spain 📲 https://t.co/m6ywisJ1Al

‼ ️ 1 in 2 women have suffered some form of sexist violence in Spain.

♀️ #TODAS Hilo 👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/lZ0K8OvD2P

- Delegation of the Govt.

Against Gender Violence (@DelGobVG) September 10, 2020

The study introduces sexual harassment, which 40.4% (8,240,537 women) have experienced at some point in their lives.

Its prevalence among women between 16 and 24 years of age is much higher than that of 25 or more years: 60.5% have suffered it on some occasion and 34.7% before reaching 15 years of age.

The data on

or repeated harassment reveal an incidence of 15.2% (3,095,357 women).

As the main novelties compared to the 2015 edition, the ministry indicates that questions have been introduced to measure sexual harassment and

(a form of harassment characterized by permanent surveillance and control of the victim).

In addition, the sexual violence module has been expanded to include cases that occur outside the scope of the partner and ex-partner and to be able to know all the possible forms of these types of attacks, complaints, requests for formal and informal help, satisfaction with the help received or details about episodes such as group assaults.