DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS A MALE PROBLEM

Today, November 25, is the international day against domestic violence.


My view on this is very simple: I have zero tolerance for anybody, male or female, who inflicts violence on their partner or ex-partner. I believe men have a special responsibility to take a stand against this blight to our society. In the majority of cases, not all but the majority, it is men who inflict the violence. Hence it is the men in society who have to put a stop to it.

I live in Andalucía and according to the regional government there are 73 reports of domestic violence every day. The data formed a report for region’s parliament which shows there were 26,838 such complaints last year. This figure amounts to a 7.8 increase over 2008.

In 2009 the courts in Andalucía issued 5,287 protection orders. The Andalucía minister of equality and social welfare, Micaela Navarro, says it is vital that women in this situation report their cases so that help and assistance can be given.

The ministry has also published the provisional figures that show 15 women have died in Andalucía so far this year from domestic violence – more than the total in 2009. At the time of writing there have been 63 deaths in wider Spain.

Since the laws to offer the sufferers of domestic violence protection the nation has been stunned by the number of cases and the violent deaths. Ironically whilst such violence has always existed it has been behind closed doors. Now the suffers come forward and all too often their partners react by killing them. The laws have simple not kept up with developments. In many cases the problems have been caused by the laws that are meant to offer protection. Nor are these crimes restricted to the young or middle aged – what has surprised me more than anything is the cases involving men and women in their 70s or 80s.

It is true that many of the deaths from domestic violence involve immigrants to the country. In many areas the number of cases of abuse involving non-Spaniards exceeds those of nationals. In Algeciras there is a major problem with Moroccans who form a large immigrant group – on the Costa del Sol I am ashamed to say that Britons and Northern Europeans feature highly in the number of court cases.

It is not a Spanish problem it is an international problem hence the holding of this special day. Yet in essence it is a male problem and so we men have to solve it.

YOUNG AND FOREIGN

One of the areas of specific interest to me and on which I blog frequently is domestic violence. Although I have expressed my concern about the small number of people – men and women – who are falsely accused as acts of revenge – make no mistake I have zero tolerance of any such acts of violence.

That out of the way I was interested to read some statistics released by Spain’s judicial authority – the Consejo General del Poder Judicial. It shows that half of the 55 women who died at the hands of their partners or former partners in 2009 were 35 years old or younger. Furthermore 38 per cent of all such deaths were amongst non-Spaniards.

Living in the southern part of Andalucía the majority of domestic violence deaths that I write about are amongst immigrants. In addition in the special courts set up in Cádiz and Málaga provinces to try cases of domestic violence the number of foreigners tried outnumbers Spaniards. In Algeciras there is a large Moroccan community who have different views on sexual equality from out own. On the Costa del Sol Northern Europeans including Britons often feature.

The study was produced by the Observatorio contra la Violencia Doméstica y de Género. The CGPJ says it is concerned that the findings show that in seven out of ten cases the victim had not reported their partners for previous acts of violence.

If there is good news in the report it is that there was a drop last year in the number of women murdered compared with 2008 when there were 75 although the percentage of foreign women remains very high.

Of the 2009 victims eight were under protection orders at the time of their deaths – obviously their protection wasn’t adequate. Seventy per cent of the slayings took place in the home of the victim or aggressor. In 24 per cent of cases the aggressors committed suicide, in 13 per cent they attempted to kill themselves and in 39 per cent of cases they were detained by the authorities.

I have always taken the view that whilst women account for the largest number of victims men are abused as well. In 2009 nine men died at the hands of women, one was murdered by another man but in two of these cases the male victim had previously been denounced for violence against the woman.

TWO PER CENT IS TOO MANY

The Spanish government’s delegate for domestic violence, Miguel Lorente, has confirmed a list of those who have mistreated their partners could be published. He said the objective was to have them rejected by society but stressed that whilst the proposal was being studied it implementation would not be immediate.

Speaking to the TV channel Telecinco he said there was always a series of turns in the evolution of the crime of domestic violence. He was referring to the 36.8 per cent rise in the number of deaths so far this year compared with the same period in 2009.

Lorente also criticised the recent concentration on false reports made against people for acts of domestic violence blaming a section of society that is against social equality. He said that according to figures presented by the judicial body, CGPJ, these accounted for just two per cent of reported cases.

Readers of my blog will know that I am 100 per cent against domestic violence – no ifs, no buts. However the legislation that was passed has served a purpose but is not perfect and needs adjusting. The battle lines have been drawn – you either support the legislation and social equality – or you highlight abuses of justice which means you are a reactionary harking after the male macho society. Oh if life was so simple!

A couple of years ago I reported on a meeting held in Algeciras attended by men and women who had been unjustly accused of domestic violence largely as an act of revenge by their former partners. I have also reported on recent protests by those who have been held in jail or separated from their children after being falsely accused. Lorente says they only account for two per cent of cases as if that justified the errors. It does not.

Those two per cent are as much victims of domestic violence as the people who suffer at the hands of their partners. The law needs to be amended to protect all threatened by “violence” of this type. By his remarks Lorente shows himself to be part of the problem, not the solution.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: ZERO TOLERENCE BUT JUSTICE

On Christmas Eve around 50 separated parents including six women held a protest in the centre of Sevilla. Thirty-five of them dressed up as Father Christmas in a demonstration demanding a change to the divorce law to give shared custody of children between both parents and in support of the judge of the Sevilla family court, Francisco Serrano. Earlier some 67 organisation had defended the judge against the action of “ultra feminists” that have asked the CGPJ judicial authority to take disciplinary action against Serrano accusing him of siding with those responsible for domestic violence in seeking a fair settlement of cases.

Amongst those at the Sevilla demonstration were José Antonio Santos and Miguel Ángel Torres. They had recently been the victims of false complaints made against them by their partners in divorce proceedings. Santos had as a result spent 11 months in jail and Torres had been accused of abusing his two year old daughter.

According to the spokesperson for ‘Papá no es’, Carlos Aurelio Caldito, since 2004 when the Ley de Violencia de Género was introduced over 600,000 men had been branded as “sexist” but when the cases were investigated and brought to court they were found to be innocent.

Long term readers of my blog will know that I have a specific interest in the problem of domestic violence in Spain and as with all such cases – be it the male abusing the female – or in more cases that you might suspect the female abusing the male – I believe in zero tolerance.

I remember a year or so after the 2004 law was introduced a meeting was held in Algeciras attended by people living in the Campo de Gibraltar and others from Málaga. The majority were men and believed false accusations had been made against them by their former partners who alleged domestic violence in order to boost their claim for a divorce or as an act of revenge.

This highlights a major problem involving the law. It is vital that those who suffer domestic violence from current or former partners are protected with the full weight of the law. Unfortunately there are now many cases where one partner uses the law to make false accusations against the other – so whilst we must have zero tolerance for violence - we must also ensure justice for all.

Website: http://www.papanoes.es

CHILD ON PARENT VIOLENCE

One of the subjects I concentrate on is domestic violence which is normally accepted as being aggression on the part of the male on his wife, girlfriend or former partner. Of course in some instances it is the woman who is the aggressor. Cases also occur of a partner alleging violence at as act of vengeance when none has happened.

Domestic violence has become a hot topic in Spain in recent years because the government has taken steps to offer protection and help to the victims so that many cases that in the past would have remained hidden now come out in to the open. It has to be said that the immigrant communities account for many of the deaths and acts of violence – and sadly Britons make up part of that number.

What caught my attention this week was the number of acts of aggression by young sons and daughters on their parents and grandparents. These have doubled in the last two years with the number of reports having risen from around 2,000 to 4,000.

According to data supplied by the minor’s prosecutor, Consuelo Madrigal, 40 per cent of the cases involve the daughters or grand daughters. She says this type of violence is one of the most worrying developments that have occurred since she took office in 2008.

It is believed that the frequency of attacks by children on the parents is probably higher as it is likely that many are not reported or brought before the courts. It was the case that 80 per cent of the attacks were by sons and 80 per cent of the victims were the mothers. However whilst mothers are still the main victims of abuse more attacks are now coming from the daughters.

There is apparently no profile either social or psychological for children who attack their parents. It is true to say that such assaults are more frequent in single parent families or where the father is absent permanently or for much of the time. Convicted children are normally placed in a family education unit where the minor will receive treatment and therapy – the majority of such cases are successfully treated. None-the-less I find this development very worrying especially in a society where respect for senior family members has always been strong.

By coincidence as these statistics were issued a 20-year-old youth was arrested in Sevilla for allegedly having stabbed his father to death in the bar he owned. The attack took place at around 7.30 and it was first thought that the father had died whilst confronting a thief. At 20 the son is over the age of being a minor but it is still a grim reminder of the reality of child on parent violence.

¡BASTA YA!

Yesterday was the international day for the elimination of violence against women.

As a day it was important to highlight the violence and abuse that women suffer.

However to eradicate it, as we must, it is not a 24-hour event but a day-in and day-out task.

So far this year 68 women have died in Spain from domestic violence or at the hands of former partners.

True, a good percentage of those were immigrants in to the country, but such violence knows no race, no colour and no creed.

Many women are the victims of violence or murder in Spain because they are immigrants and they are more fearful of seeking help because of their illegal status than they are of their attackers and slayers. That is why many organisations that work in offering protection to abused illegal immigrants urge them to put their own safety first.

The Ministerio de Igualdad estimates that so far this year 400,000 women have suffered domestic violence in Spain. Every 40 minutes a woman in Andalucía denounces her partner or former partner. In some ways these statistics are more telling than the terrible death total.

Many believe that yesterday was about women but in fact it was about men.

It is men that carry out these vile acts of violence and men that kill these unfortunate women.

Hence it is only men who can stamp out this blight on our society.

It is therefore time for all men to stand and up and be counted.

It is time for all men to reject violence against women in any shape or form.

It is time for men to show no tolerance for those who condone or carry out such acts.

¡Basta Ya! - is a fine slogan – but the time for slogans has passed.

Men need to act now - ¡Basta Ya!

NO PROTECTION AT ALL

I last wrote about domestic violence on August 25. It will be a subject that I return to many times in the life of this blog.

I make no apology for restating that I believe in zero tolerance for any person who is violent to their partner. Indeed I also believe that it is not sufficient for men to stand up and be counted but we have to act rather than spout pious words.

Back on August 25 I wrote: “Instances of domestic violence have become major news stories in Spain because in recent years the government has introduced tough laws to protect women from abusive partners. This had led to far more women coming forward to denounce their partners and to seek protection but sadly society’s ability to keep them safe has not kept pace.

As a result we now see regular grim reports of the violent slaying of a woman by her husband, boyfriend or ex. I do not believe that men in Spain have become more violent merely that our awareness of these cases is now heightened.”

However there is something rather strange about the Spanish statistics.

I was aware that in the “domestic violence” court established in Algeciras a majority of the cases do not come from Spaniards but Moroccans. There is a large immigrant population in the port town and traditionally the view of Maghreb men to the rights of women are very different to our own.

Before you, perhaps as a European, get too smug over this fact let me give you another uncomfortable truth. In the special courts set up on the Costa del Sol the number of domestic violence cases involving non-Spaniards, including my fellow EU citizens and yes Britons, also out number those for Spaniards.

On Sunday September 28 a 25-year-old Argentinean, Cecilia Natalia Coria Olivares, was brutally stabbed to death as she opened up a bar where she worked on Nerja’s Balcón de Europa. Her slayer was her 29-year-old former boyfriend, a Moroccan, who had a court order baring him from approaching her.

This tragedy rang a bell in my brain because it appeared to me that many of the cases of such violent deaths involve not Spaniards but foreigners living here. I made a mental note to email the Ministry of the Interior to get a break down of the 48 violent deaths so far this year. However I was saved in the task by Maribel García Revilla.

She is the president of the “asociación de mujeres progresistas Victoria Kent”, that on the last Tuesday of every month holds a silent protest against domestic violence in the plaza Alta in Algeciras. This Tuesday, just days after the Nerja killing, she pointed out that around 50 per cent of these violent murders involve foreign women, with their slayers invariably non-Spaniards.

García Revilla recognized that many of these women were here illegally but urged them to come forward to the courts, to associations such as hers for help as the most important thing is their life and not their legal status.

Previously I stated that whilst Spain had introduced progressive laws on domestic violence the protection of women under threat had not kept pace with the current situation. García Revilla also addressed this point relating it to the recent assault of a woman in Los Barrios. She had a court order barring her partner from approaching her, but not a pulse alarm she could use in an emergency. “Pues la orden de alejamiento es papel mojado”, in other words the legal paper was no protection at all.