Wafaa ESSALHI
Fri, March 7, 2025
Spain has made strides in fighting gender-based violence but the government says there is more to do (OSCAR DEL POZO)OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP/AFPMore
Feminist activists in Spain say inaction and men's silence are hindering the eradication of abuse, as the country celebrates 20 years of a pioneering law against gender-based violence.
The murder of Ana Orantes, a 60-year-old woman who had reported violence against her to the authorities and on television before being burned alive by her ex-husband in 1997, shocked the nation into action.
Parliament ended up adopting a law that entered into force in 2005 and recognised gender-based violence as a human rights violation for the first time, inspiring other countries.
The legislation laid the ground for a range of new support measures for women, including specialised courts, free legal assistance, emergency housing, prosecution even if the victim did not submit a complaint and tags keeping abusers away from the victim.
It was the first law in Spain to be conceived with an explicit gender-based perspective, punishing abuse perpetrated by males against their partners or ex-partners.
For lawyer and activist Altamira Gonzalo, the law stood out by aiming to "undermine the patriarchal structure of society, which is what allows and perpetuates inequality and therefore violence".
It was the first European law which sought to change different areas including the health system, media, advertising and "all those aspects of life in which inequality between men and women is reflected", Gonzalo added.
The measures helped bring down the number of femicides, which in 2024 dropped to a low of 48 since such records began in 2008, when 76 women were killed by their partner or ex-partner.
But "there is still lots of work to do with men, and especially with young males" and "macho attitudes", said Manuela Carmena, a former judge and mayor of Madrid from 2015 to 2019.
Equality Minister Ana Redondo said the scale of the problem was "enormous" and "inoculated like a virus in society" that spread on social networks.
- 'Deafening silence' -
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez recently called out fellow men for their inaction, speaking of "a silence that covers macho culture's most subtle manifestations, but also the most extreme ones".
"Everywhere, this silence must end, because today it remains a deafening silence," he said at an event marking the 20th anniversary of Spain's gender-violence law.
This week, the Spanish bar awarded an equality prize to Gonzalo and French lawyers Stephane Babonneau and Antoine Camus, who represented Gisele Pelicot in her notorious mass rape trial that generated much soul-searching in Spain.
Pelicot was raped for years by her husband and dozens of men recruited by him online while sedated, and her insistence that the trial in France be made public made her a global feminist icon.
"Under how much silence was the continual rape of Gisele Pelicot maintained for years? How many men knew and kept quiet?" said Sanchez.
Sexual violence is "under-reported in Spain", agreed Gonzalo, a member of the national observatory against gender-based violence.
Nonetheless, the ground-breaking 2005 law has allowed more than three million women to report their suffering and escape from their ordeal, the lawyer added.
Spanish authorities are now widening the law's scope to include newer offences such as online and economic violence as well as "vicarious violence" -- abuse meted out to children with the aim of making the mother suffer.
People march in cities around the world to mark International Women's Day
Lucy Davalou
Sat, March 8, 2025
People march in cities around the world to mark International Women's Day
Hundreds of thousands of people marched in cities around the world on March 8th to mark International Women's Day.
Tens of thousands of people gathered on the streets of Madrid, rallying in defence of women’s rights and advocating for an anti-racist, feminist agenda.
The march, organised by the feminist network 8M Commission, saw participants braving the rain whilst chanting against gender inequality and racism.
The Spanish government reported 25,000 participants against 20,000 in 2024, although organisers claimed the number was closer to 80,000.
Rome marches against gender violence
People take part in a Transfeminist strike on International Women's Day, outside the Colosseum, in Rome, Saturday, March 8, 2025 - Valentina Stefanelli/Valentina Stefanelli/LaPresse
In Rome, the demonstration focused on fighting gender violence and closing the gender gap. The city hosted the largest demonstration in Italy, however Italians were marching in 60 cities across the country to raise awareness about violence against women. The slogan of the demonstration, “Not One Less,” echoed the ongoing fight against femicide and gender-based violence.
While in Istanbul, Turkey, thousands more took to the streets to also protest against gender violence and the growing pressure on women in society. The rally in Istanbul's Kadikoy district was marked by speeches, music, and dance, celebrating women’s strengths whilst also highlighting the urgent need for societal change. However, a heavy police presence, including officers in riot gear and water cannon trucks, tightly controlled the demonstration.
Turkish women fight a patriarchal society
The Turkish government declared 2025 the "Year of the Family," a move that many protesters criticised, seeing it as an attempt to further confine women to traditional roles of marriage and motherhood. The government's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention in 2021, which was designed to protect women from domestic violence, has also been a source of anger among activists. The We Will Stop Femicides Platform reported that 394 women were killed by men in Turkey in 2024.
Women chant slogans during a protest marking International Women's Day in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 8, 2025. - Emrah Gurel/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved
Yaz Gulgun, a 52-year-old pensioner, spoke out against the rising rates of femicide in the country, calling for better legal protections and a more supportive police force. She said
“There is bullying at work, pressure from husbands and fathers at home and pressure from patriarchal society. We demand that this pressure be reduced even further.”
While Selvi Alkancelik, a 58-year-old demonstrator, pushed on the desire for women to be free from the restrictions imposed by a patriarchal society, saying “Let women be free. I want them to go somewhere without asking permission from her husband, to go anywhere without fear when she returns home at night, to go anywhere freely without fear. I want freedom for all women in the world."
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