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2020: the year with the fewest murders but no less sexist violence

2021-01-05T02:05:00.030Z


45 women died at the hands of their partners, the lowest figure since 2003. The assaults are triggered when they leave and in confinement they could not go anywhere. The abusers were in control


Demonstration for 25N, in Seville, in 2019.Paco Puentes

The first murder occurred on Three Kings Day.

Rubén Darío killed Mónica Linde and her daughter Ciara on the day they should have been opening presents.

The last one was on New Years Eve.

Costinel Clincea killed his wife, Ionela, in front of their two children, a 10-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy.

In 2020, the year of the coronavirus pandemic, 45 women have died at the hands of their partners or ex-partners.

It is the year with the fewest fatalities due to sexist violence since the official count began in 2003.

But killings are just the tip of the iceberg: fewer crimes doesn't mean far less violence.

Also in this matter the covid has had its effect.

One of the most dangerous moments in the lives of the victims is when they decide to leave.

During the confinement, the four months in which fewer murders were registered than in all previous years, they could not leave while they could exercise control without restriction.

The virus has forced women to live 24 hours under the same roof with their attackers, "in a prison with their abuser," explains psychologist Marisol Rojas.

To date, and pending confirmation of two cases under investigation, in the 17 years that Spain has collected data on sexist violence, 1,078 women have been murdered by sexist violence, as well as 37 boys and girls.

Another 304 minors have been orphaned.

The decrease in murders in 2020, the lowest year in the historical series, is mainly explained by the limitations of confinement.

During four months - the state of alarm in Spain extended between March 14 and June 21 - there were eight women murdered, less than half of the 19 registered in the same period on average in the rest of the years.

In subsequent months, the data on murdered women were similar to those of previous years.

What has happened?

Time of greatest risk

The risk of aggression increases when they say that they are leaving and they see that they lose control.

This is an aspect that is reflected year after year in the reports of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ).

It is, in fact, one of the questions that the police ask women who come to report to the police stations to assess the danger they are in: if they have announced to their partner that they are going to separate.

“During the confinement, the women have been totally under the control of their abusers, who have known at all times where they were and what they were doing,” explains Marisol Rojas, a psychologist specializing in sexist violence.

This is what is called control violence: “I have cared for women who during those months decided not to upset their partners at all so that they would not get angry.

Women learn very quickly not to be contrary so that it does not lead to aggression ”.

This was also explained by the Government delegate against gender violence, Victoria Rosell, in a recent interview with EL PAÍS on the occasion of November 25, the day for the eradication of violence against women: “Who knows the cycle of violence he knows that when the aggressor controls the victim more, physical aggressions are not triggered, but these other forms of violence, psychological and control are very harsh, sustained over time and with little chance of relief ”.

The victims “have had more difficulties to ask for help, to get out.

They have endured many more crimes without reporting ”, adds Ángeles Carmona, president of the Observatory against Domestic and Gender Violence of the CGPJ.

In the harshest months of the pandemic, the number of complaints also dropped.

In the first half of 2020, according to data from the CGPJ, there were 12.4% less than in the same period of 2019, up to a total of 70,723 complaints.

The gap narrowed in the third quarter, with a decrease of 5.08% (42,854).

“We have a rebound.

It is now when women go to court to tell episodes that took place during confinement and that then they could not tell, ”explains Carmona.

There was an indicator that did skyrocket in those months: calls to 016, a service that began to operate 24 hours a day.

There were up to 60% more in April compared to the same month of 2019. There were 8,632 calls.

The Ministry of Equality set up a chat service, foreseeing that some women could not even speak loudly on the phone while they lived locked up with their abusers.

It did not happen before the pandemic nor has it happened during this 2020. It is not usual for women to report in the most serious cases.

Only one in five murdered since the count began in 2003 had previously reported her attacker.

In 2020, the percentage was even lower: 15.6% sounded the alarm.

All efforts are made to detect the danger in other ways, from social services to the family doctor.

Or family and friends, who still do not feel mostly concerned.

Only in 2.5% of cases is the environment that asks for help.

Information about the coronavirus

- Here you can follow the last hour on the evolution of the pandemic

- Restrictions search engine: What can I do in my municipality?

- This is how the coronavirus curve evolves in the world

- Download the tracking application for Spain

- Guide to action against the disease

Source: elparis

All life articles on 2021-01-05

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