Last Tuesday the Council of Ministers approved a catalogue of 15 measures to deal with male violence in Spain. The document outlines the "urgent" decisions that have been taken to update the law against gender violence. It is a catalogue proposed in collaboration with five departments: Interior, Equality, Health, Social Rights and Justice. This plan will provide support for women victims of male violence who have not filed complaints of ill-treatment or ill-treatment. On the other hand, the protocol of protection will also apply to children who have suffered vicarious violence in the Basque Country.

Since the state of alarm was deactivated, cases of gender-based violence have multiplied by two. According to El Diario, the number of women killed between May and June was twice as high as in the first four months of the year in the CAV. In view of the increase in cases, the Spanish Government is going to implement a standardized protocol for the detection and treatment of cases.

Women victims of male violence and their families will create a “one-stop shop” to access available social services, such as housing and financial support. From now on, victims will be able to carry out all the necessary procedures to access reparation and assistance in a single administration.

In the case of women who do not report – 30% of the people attended in 2019, according to El Diario – and in the case of victims who stop the process, new avenues of action will be launched: Services of Gen and Atrenpro and Protocol Zero. The Vegetarian Gén system will serve for the assessment and follow-up of cases of male violence by police stations and basic and specialized social services. It shall be in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Equality and the Ministry of the Interior. The latter department will implement Protocol Zero: where there is no complaint, the testimonies of the woman ' s family will be collected in order to be able to evaluate and adopt police protection measures.

Atenpro, for its part, will offer telephone assistance to victims for 24 hours through the Basque Health Observatory. The protocol is already in place, but with the new catalogue of measures, as you have explained, "it will be improved". Although the measures to be taken have not been specified, changes have been made to the use of the service in cases where there is no complaint.

Vicarious violence and education

The changes not only affect the direct victims of male violence, but also affect children who suffer vicarious violence. The Administration will establish a protocol for cooperation between social services and the fields of justice and the family, and will develop a standardized guide to action for the identification of these cases and the protection of victims.

As a preventive measure, awareness-raising and awareness-raising campaigns have been launched with the aim of combating sexual violence and promoting "good treatment". On the one hand, police and justice workers will have training sessions at the university. On the other hand, in order to influence the population, the Executive will collaborate with social networks by taking action against issues that promote discrimination and violence against women. Finally, "tools to educate" people convicted of male violence in 2013 will be used.

Impact of the law on the CAV

Emakunde Director-General Izaskun Landaida has told Berria that the changes introduced by the Spanish Government could have a limited impact on CAV. According to information gathered by the media, in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa "some proposals that are already underway" are cited in the law. However, Emakunde and the Navarro Institute for Equality are waiting to know "in more detail" the proposals made to know the changes they may entail.