The Elimination of Violence Against Women

We begin with El País, where the Spanish newspaper writes about violence against women as being, surprisingly, a dividing topic amongst political parties. As the results of the November 10 Spanish general election show, the far-right party Vox has lately seen rising popularity, having gained representation in local and regional governments, as well as the Congress of Deputies. Vox has been refusing to support initiatives that aim to stop gender violence, arguing that “violence does not have a gender”, resulting in the halting of institutional declarations in various Spanish city halls. El País also includes statistics on violence against women in their article, citing that 59 women have already been killed this year by someone close to them. The article also points out that sexual violence against women has increased in Catalonia, in comparison with last year’s figures. Vox’s position on the entire matter can lead to serious implications for those suffering from violence.

Agerpres writes this week about Biró Rozália, Romanian MP for the UDMR (Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania) party, who notes that domestic violence in Romania statistical data is worrying. Rozália speaks of the horrifying statistics in order to raise awareness of the situation in the country, where aggression against women (as well as children, elderly, and men) is worrying. Reportedly, there have been more than 38,000 domestic violence abuses disclosed to the police – but only around 1,300 of the perpetrators were actually prosecuted, which translates to about 3.5% of cases. Agerpres also includes data from a Eurobarometer survey, where it shows that 1 in 5 surveyed in 2016 believe that rape should not be punished. In 2019 alone, almost 20,000 domestic violence offences were reported in Romania, as well as more than 900 cases of rape crimes, and more than 100 cases of murder. The article highlights that the UDMR women’s organization is partaking in the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, and that the problem at hand is not a “private problem of the aggressor”; the figures report a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed.

La Repubblica writes an informative article to highlight the importance of speaking up on violence against women in Italy. A disturbing picture of the country is portrayed - 142 feminicides have occurred in 2018, which means one woman died every 72 hours, and three out of four murders happened at home. The situation does not seem to improve, either. 94 feminicides have been registered so far in 2019. Furthermore, in Italy there are only 281 women’s centres, which translates to 0,05 per ten thousand citizens, and orphans of feminicides lack adequate tutelage and protection. La Repubblica outspokenly asserts that our society is impregnated with gender-based violence. This culture of sexism has to be addressed through awareness, information and also a stronger legislation. For instance, the recent “Red Code” Law introduces tougher penalties and guarantees faster investigations into episodes of domestic gender-based violence. It also criminalises revenge porn and acid attacks.

Le Monde writes about the irony that France faces, where the nation pretends to be one of where equality between sexes is highly valued. Statistics show that in France, 220 000 women face domestic violence each year, of which 121 died in 2018. Le Monde calls an end to the willful ignorance against this phenomenon and asks that the government engages with the matter head on, which has been tolerated for far too long. The article notes that in order to tackle the problem, there needs to be a structural change in terms of policemen and gendarmerie banding together against the issue at hand. The causes of violence against women need to be addressed, and investigations need to be systematically undertaken so that resolutions can be found. Passionately calling for change, Le Monde writes that security for women needs to be guaranteed, and feminicide in France must stop.