Younger girls speaking up
A total of 741 minors have reported gender violence to police up until October this year; feminist collectives want changes in courts and schools
Catalonia’s autonomous police, the Mossos d’Esquadra have registered a total of 10,968 complaints in the field of domestic violence between January and October, a 3.5% increase on the number reported in the same period last year. Of those, 741 are minors who reported their partners or former partners or are daughters whose mothers have been abused as well as they have. Complaints of sexist aggression against children has increased by 11% over 2016. The Mossos have arrested 27 male minors, most aged 16 and 17, who have been charged with acts of violence against their partners between January and September. The number of adults arrested for violence against women exceeds 4,000.
To try to stop the scourge of gender violence among young people, the Mossos give informative talks in schools and colleges, the workplace, institutions and to newly arrived migrants. Titled “Gender violence. How does it all begin?” the police programme has been seen by more than 14,000 young people. So far this year, nine women have been killed by their partners in Catalonia.
The feminist umbrella organisation Novembre Feminista have organised a protest rally this Saturday at six o’clock in the plaça Universitat to mark International Womens’ Day. With 122 women in Catalonia under police protection, the collective believes that more must be done within the judicial system as the risk to women in our society is too high. The fact that more younger women are now reporting cases of violence is positive but also shows that there is a greater need in schools to break negative behavioural patterns earlier.