Justice reform: Age of consent rises and Spain toughens up on crime

This is in a bid to fight sex crimes against children and was partly provoked by the death of a 13-year-old girl in a village in Albacete, who was shot by her 39-year-old boyfriend.

The girl's mother had been trying to get the police to take action against the boyfriend since he was 38 and she was 12, since the family disapproved of the relationship.

But before the police acted, the girl turned 13 and was then considered legally old enough to consent to a fully-fledged relationship.

The mother accused the police of having blood on their hands, and when the killer was tracked down to a country house and surrounded, he shot himself in the head.

Spain's government will also scrap what is known as 'safety custody', a form of house arrest which dangerous criminals are subjected to after finishing their sentences.

Applied in exceptional cases where an offender who has served the required sentence is considered to be particularly dangerous to others, 'safety custody' is a rigorous control that effectively deprives the ex-convict of part of his or her liberty for a maximum of 10 years.

It has always been a highly-controversial topic and one which divides society – many believe it is vital to ensure the offender does not commit further rapes, murders, assaults or acts of terrorism, but the Council of Justice, which controls the courts in Spain, and other members of the public believing it serves as an extension of a prison sentence which has already been served and is therefore a breach of human rights and goes against the Spanish Constitution.

This will now be scrapped in the forthcoming justice reform being penned by minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón (pictured), one-time mayor of Madrid.

Other elements of the justice reform include tightening up on review of long-term or permanent prison sentences, and harsher punishment for employers who exploit immigrant workers.

Until now, they would only be fined for taking on foreigners without the required permits, or minors, but soon they will also face prison sentences of between three and 18 months.

Companies 'employing' workers and paying them cash in hand, with no contract, Social Security or tax retained on their behalf will be penalised much more heavily, since the workers have no rights to healthcare, pensions, sick pay, or dole money, cannot get a mortgage or loan and are not insured to be on the premises, meaning they may not receive any compensation in the event of an accident at work where the company does not have sufficient funds or assets for the court to embargo for this purpose.

Illegal immigrants, particularly manual workers, are most at risk.

A high-profile case in 2009 involved a Bolivian national whose arm was ripped off by a machine at the bread factory he worked at in Real de Gandia (Valencia).

Fearing discovery, his bosses dumped him outside the door of A&E, bleeding profusely, and told him to pretend he had suffered a car accident if asked.

Police found out the staff at the factory were mostly non-EU citizens, earning 690 euros a month purely in cash with no contract for a six-day week, had no training on the machines, and that there were no health and safety measures in force.

The ministry of justice gave the victim immediate Spanish citizenship to protect him, but the case is still waiting to come to court.