Increase in reported cases of violence against women in Spain

The number of cases of violence against women heard in Spanish courts in the second quarter of 2016 rose by 13 percent when compared with the same period in 2015, it was confirmed on Friday.

The data published by the Observatory against Domestic Violence, run by the General Council of Judicial Power (CGPJ), showed that the period between April and June saw 36,319 complaints of gender violence (of which 33,593 were made by women) in the courts, compared with 32,023 the previous year.

Some 64.4 percent of the cases presented to court (2 percent more than in 2015) were resolved with a punishment for the person accused of carrying out the mistreatment.

Meanwhile, 10,845 protection orders were also requested during the same period of which 59 percent were accepted by authorities.

The regions with the highest proportion of cases were in the Canary Islands with a ratio of 22.5 cases per 10,000 women, Murcia, southeast Spain, with a ratio of 21.3 and the Balearic islands where the ratio was 21.2.

In contrast La Rioja and the region of Castilla-Leon had ratios of slightly over eight cases per 10,000 women.

The study showed seven out of every ten complaints were made by the victim, while 16.48 percent were made by the police after intervening in the case and with just 3.8 percent of complaints made by the victims' families.

Some 52 percent of all complaints were made against the victim's current partner.
 [china.org.cn]
21/10/16