Courts warn of rising gender violence

Accusations are on the up in the Valencia region

A WORRYING spike in gender violence was detected by courts in the Valencia region last year. A total of 26,566 official accusations (denuncias) were received, which is 17.3% more than the 22,654 presented in 2021.

The statistics, published on Friday by the gender violence observatory of the general council of the judiciary (CGPJ), recorded a total of 24,737 female victims of violence by men, an increase of 11.2% on the 22,240 the year before.

President of the observatory, Ángeles Carmona said the increase clearly shows that sexist violence is unfortunately still very present in society.

She assured the daily averages of accusations presented and female victims, 499 and 483 respectively, is ‘absolutely unacceptable’, and should remind society of the need for governments, individuals, businesses, schools, healthcare facilities and the media to keep fighting this violence as it could save lives.

The victims included 15,160 Spaniards (up 10% on 2021), and 9,577 women of other nationalities (up 13.2%).

Of the total of 7,851 judgments in the Valencia region, 3,530 in courts for violence against women resulted in convictions and 373 in acquittals; compared to 2,567 convictions and 1,271 acquittals in criminal courts; and 56 convictions and 15 acquittals in provincial courts; while courts for minors held 30 such trials.

Valencia is the region with the third highest rate of gender violence victims, with 95.6 for every 10,000 women, only behind the Balearic Islands (110.3) and Murcia (103.4), while the national average is 72.9.

The number of cases in Alicante province was 9,780, over 1,000 more than the 8,602 in 2021, while in Valencia they rose from 12,176 to 12,887, and Castellón from 1,876 to 3,899.

Sra Carmona said it was positive that the figures also indicate more victims are seeking justice, as this is the only way to punish these crimes and for them to escape the cycle of violence.

Although lodging accusations can be difficult, she thanked those who do so for their bravery and asked them to trust the trained professionals who will help them and their children, as reflected by the 77.5% conviction rate, almost 70% rate of protection orders granted, and the significant increase in suspension of visiting rights (104%) and custody (58.8%).