I. Sexual Violence against Young Women in Navarre On Monday, the Minister of Presidency and Equality, Felix Taberna, presented the main conclusions of the study together with Patricia Abad, Managing Director of NABI and Rut Iturbide, Professor at the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) and coordinator of the study. According to the study, which aims to analyze the sexual violence currently experienced by young women in Navarre, last year 369 women filed complaints about sexual violence, of which 70% were under 30 years of age.

It is a study promoted by the Navarre Institute for Equality (NABI) in collaboration with the Public University of Navarre (NUP), with the participation of researchers Leonor Canals, Nayaded Labbé and Leire Martínez. The study combines quantitative (provided by police, social and health services) and qualitative (based on group interviews with four groups of young women aged 14 to 29 years) analysis of official data provided by NABI to develop strategies to combat sexual violence in the future.

The study highlights that the progress made by the feminist movement leads to a “rearmament of the sexist contestants”, whose appearance goes through the intensification of violence against women, “through new mechanisms and strategies”.

Most sexual assailants are around the victim

Of the 369 complaints filed last year, more than 150 were of minors and about 110 were of young people between the ages of 18 and 29. “The importance of rejecting the idea of the ghost rapist or aggressor on the street from the imaginary”, emphasizes Iturbide, since the analysis has revealed that the majority of sexual aggressors belong to the social environment of the victim; 89% of the sexual assaults last year were carried out by people known to the victims. The study notes that although sexual violence occurs in all spaces, it occurs mainly in families and leisure areas. The Bar also adds that this reality is “universal, affecting all types of cultures and territories”, highlighting that the most vulnerable women, such as minors, immigrants or those with mental illnesses, are the ones who suffer the most from sexual violence.

Last year there were 13 more complaints than in 2023 (356), 183% more than in 2018 (134 complaints) and 2019 (133 complaints). As the data show, reports of sexual violence have been steadily increasing in recent years, with greater awareness, knowledge and detection than the proliferation of attacks and an increase in the number of women accessing specialized services in the face of a situation of sexual violence, the report clarifies.

The “relatively complex situation” of young people

Sexual offenders tend to be older than their victims, as the average age of the offenders is 30-49 years (38.9% in the 2018-2022 range). The increase in complaints over the past five years is evident in the younger age groups: In 2023 there were 142 cases of children under 17 years of age, 115 cases between 18 and 29 years of age, 74 cases between 30 and 49 years of age, 21 cases between 50 and 64 years of age and 2 victims over 65 years of age.

Iturbide points out that young people today have a “rather complex situation” because “despite many advances in equality, the discourses of patriarchal and machista re-radicalisation of a broad spectrum and depth are prevailing”. Macho speeches reach young people through platforms such as Tik Tok, Youtube Shorts, Instagram reels or “the mainstreaming part of porn that becomes visible”. “We have denatured completely and we have denatured the violation of human rights,” says the professor, “because we have a lot of information poisoning and we have few criteria to deal with it.” Iturbide warns that there is porn that many girls watch to “know what they should do in their sexual relationships.”

Conclusions and conclusions

The study considers it “urgent” to involve men in the fight against different forms of sexual violence, in order to change the structural nature of this phenomenon and avoid discourses that deny, delegitimize or minimize the severity of the experiences lived by the victims. The authors highlight the existence of “highly naturalized and silenced” sexual violence, and in their conceptualization they propose to “change the focus” on “dynamics and intervention, involving men in the prevention, detection and approach of such violence, and taking away the responsibility of women”.

The report also proposes the strengthening of the work of the institutional network, as well as the creation of joint projects and strategies with the feminist movement and organized civil society.

The director of NABI, Patricia Abad, explains that the objective of the research has been to “analyze the situation critically” so that the proposals that are given later are not “disconnected” from reality. Abad also added that the study was done to corroborate the story of sexual violence by young women, to change certain stereotypes that are perpetuated by a “patriarchal look”. It also calls for special attention to be paid to women who, in addition to sexual violence, suffer from other vulnerabilities, such as immigration or rural status.

This year the II Executive Forum against Violence against Women. It has been indicated during the hearing that it will draw up a Plan of Action. It will include concrete measures on violence, both at the provincial level and at the local level. It is reported that the NABI plans to update its protocol of action to prevent female genital mutilation in Navarre.