- A group of experts was due to discuss the possible reform of sexual crimes in the Penal Code on Friday, but they have agreed to suspend their role until a “balance between men and women” is ensured in the working group.
When the verdict in the “La Manada” case was heard, the Minister of Justice, Rafael Catalá, opened the door to a possible reform of the Criminal Code and asked the Criminal Codification Commission to consider whether the reform is necessary or not.
This committee is made up of twenty men, there are no women in the group. On Wednesday, during the control session of the Spanish Government, the PSOE and Unidos Podemos asked the Minister of Justice to guarantee equality in the commission. Instead, Catalá invited only six professors to contribute to this issue. Four of them refused the invitation, arguing that they were used as “patches.” In the end, four women participated in this Thursday’s meeting, along with twenty men: Avelina Alonso, Blanca Hernandez, Carmen Lamarca and Victoria Ortega.