Five domestic violence murders in as many days throws government measures into the spotlight

During the third quarter of 2013, police were receiving an average of 367 reports a year of abuse within relationships or by former partners.

Just this month, a woman of 49 survived being stabbed by her husband in Barcelona, as did a 32-year-old from Catadau (Valencia province), whilst a woman aged 38 was shot dead by her ex-boyfriend in Pontevedra in the north-western region of Galicia.

A 90-year-old man stabbed his wife, 87, in El Campello (Alicante province) and then killed himself by slitting his wrists, and a woman of 32 has become a living miracle after surviving two gunshots in the head from her boyfriend in Lugo, Galicia.

The most recent victim is a 45-year-old woman from L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona province) stabbed by her husband, 48, said to be an alcoholic, who immediately shot himself dead afterwards.

Just the day before, a woman aged 48 was fatally stabbed in the chest by her 70-year-old partner in their Barcelona flat.

Only a very small minority of victims are men and a tiny percentage of attackers are women, meaning Spain continues to treat domestic violence as a gender issue and refers to it as 'sexist aggression'.

But last week, a 50-year-old man in Humanes (Madrid) was stabbed to death by his girlfriend, 51, in an attack that the couple's own children said was driven by jealousy.

And earlier this summer, a Moroccan woman was arrested in the Spanish-owned city-province of Ceuta for abuse and neglect of and inflicting violence on her husband, 20 years her senior, who was ill and housebound.

It is possible that more male victims of domestic violence are suffering behind closed doors, but have never reported or admitted to their situation due to social stigma.

Of the 40 women and one man who have been murdered by their partners, spouses or exes this year, only 11 had ever reported physical abuse within the home to the police.

And a mere 1.56% of cases are reported by family members of the victim.

Given that victims often live in fear, denial, or are trapped by either their financial situation – especially where they have children – or by believing they still love and need their aggressor, it is relatives, friends, acquaintances and others in that victim's circle who are crucial in bringing cases to light and potentially saving his or her life, says the Observatory for Domestic and Gender Violence, part of the General Council for Judicial Power (CGPJ), the courts and judges governing body.

“What would you do if your sister or daughter was attacked by someone in the street, or beaten up at her office? You'd be the first to go to the police about it,” comments Miguel Lorente, former government head of domestic violence prevention.

“But this does not happen when the abuse happens within the home. We need to provide incentives to family members to report these cases.”

The Observatory has heavily criticised authorities' management of domestic violence, a crime which has cost the life of a woman a day in the last week.

Its members have blamed government funding cuts, pointing out that in Madrid alone, spending on domestic violence prevention has been slashed by 46% in the past year.

And for victims seeking injunctions against their attackers to protect them, whether or not they succeed is a postcode lottery: 63% of injunction applications were turned down last year in Catalunya, 55% in Madrid and 37% in Andalucía.

Back in 2009, the then ministry of equality which formed part of the socialist government purchased 3,000 'panic button' bracelets to be worn by victims, but only 711 of these are in operation.

Castellón University lecturer Dr María José Gámez Fuentes – who holds a PhD from the University of Nottingham in Critical Theory and Cultural Studies – says public campaigns and visibility drives have failed to keep up with the times.

“The media presents the problem from a patriarchal viewpoint and in legal and police terms, whilst the actual root causes of domestic violence are overlooked,” says Dr Gámez.

Although she says she does not wish to trivialise legislation created in the last two years, nor the media's efforts to make physical abuse within the home a visible issue, the lecturer says she questions whether 'full responsibility has been accepted and taken on' by State authorities.

“We need to find ways of taking action to bring about a real and radical transformation of the cultural inequality that feeds the domestic violence problem,” Dr Gámez concludes.

Three other researchers working with her – Dr Gaspar Brändle of Murcia University, Dr Miguel Ángel Martín of Villanueva University College, and Dr José Antonio Ruiz San Román of Madrid's Complutense University have little praise for Spain's publicity campaigns to halt domestic violence.

They generate psychological resistance and numb potential aggressors' feelings towards the issue, cutting off his or her compassion and leading to sociopathic tendencies, says the team.

Recent studies have highlighted the negative influence of television news slots covering domestic violence, and even hint that they may exacerbate the problem.

Minister of health and equality Ana Mato (pictured above) has been called upon to stand up in Parliament and explain what she intends to do to help stamp out relationship abuse now that it has reached crisis levels in Spain.  

Photograph 2: A minute's silence held on city hall steps in Málaga for a young woman murdered by her boyfriend in July