Glenn Wickman
UP to 300 women marched in Valencia city yesterday evening (Tuesday June 22) against gender violence and to condemn sexist murders.
“Machismo kills, destroy patriarchy” read the main banner leading the demonstration that left Porta de la Mar square at 19.30 towards the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
The protest was organised by local and national feminist groups to take place simultaneously in several Spanish cities, as a purple wave marched to the beat of batucada drums and chanted ‘I’m not dying, I’m being killed’ and ‘they’re not outbursts, they’re murders’.
Protesters of all ages demanded urgent solutions to the ongoing rash of sexist crimes throughout the country and called for effective protection measures for victims and their children, with more funding and greater political will to enforce them.
Up to 13 women have been killed by their partners or ex-partners in Spain in just one month, which the marchers described as ‘sexist terrorism’.
Potential victims of gender violence are urged to use the telephone number 016, which is available 24 hours a day in several languages and does not appear on the phone bill.
In a related development this week, it emerged that the salaries of female Valencian workers have the lowest rate of increase in Spain, with Spanish women in general earning 20% less than their male counterparts.
In fact, Valencia and Galicia were the only Spanish regions where wages dropped in 2019 and the Valencian Community is near the very bottom of the list with regards to salaries for both sexes, with only Extremadura, the Canary Islands and Castilla-La Mancha being worse off.
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