Legal aid doubled
Valencia is the only region in Spain which guarantees immediate financial help to gender violence victims
A TOTAL of €45 million is being stumped up by the Valencia government to guarantee free legal representation to ‘disadvantaged’ people this year.
A spokesman for the regional justice department noted that the budget has nearly doubled in four years, increasing from €23 million when the Socialist/Compromís coalition came to power in 2015.
The money is passed on to the regional college of lawyers so their members can provide the service via their offices around the region.
The spokesman reminded that the Spanish Constitution states that governments must provide aid to citizens who 'do not have sufficient means’ to meet legal fees ‘to defend their rights and interests’.
Certain sectors of the population are particularly vulnerable, according to the spokesman, including ‘victims of men’s violence against women; victims of terrorism and human trafficking; and minors and people with intellectual handicaps when they have suffered abuse’.
The spokesman recognised the ‘fundamental role’ played by the college of lawyers, whose members offer their services ‘so that people who do not have the means are able to have access to justice’.
Regional vice president Mónica Oltra noted that Valencia is the only region in Spain which guarantees legal aid to domestic violence victims ‘from the moment that they present a complaint’ against an alleged offender',
In other regions this only starts once trial proceedings are launched by the courts, she noted.
In this way a victim of gender violence ‘does not have to wait’ for the courts to deal with their Sra Oltra. case, explained