Alex Trelinski
THE number of child victims in reported cases of gender-based violence rose by 32% last year in Spain, according to the National Statistics Institute(INE).
A total of 1,816 minors were recorded as victims in 2023, in cases that led to protection orders or other legal action.
The total was almost an identical gender split of 909 boys and 907 girls.
READ MORE:
- Female victims of gender violence in Spain up by nearly 18% in early months of 2023
- Andalucia has registered this year more domestic violence deaths than in all of 2022
Since 2013- according to data from the Government Delegation against Gender Violence- 60 children have been killed by their own fathers or by their mothers’ partners or ex-partners
Female victims went up last year by 12% to reach over 36,500 people in the largest annual percentage rise recorded in the last decade.
Cases of violence against girlfriends and ex-girlfriends are the fastest growing, up 23% and 19% respectively on the 2022 figures.
The INE report shows that 1.7 out of 1,000 females aged 14 and other were victims last year.
In terms of regions, the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and eleven communities exceeded the national average, those areas being: La Rioja, Cantabria, the Balearic Islands, Murcia, the Canary Islands, Extremadura, the Valencian Community, Andalucia, Castilla-La Mancha, Aragon, and Castilla y Leon.
Almost half (47.8%) of female victims of gender violence were between 30 and 44 years old- a similar age-range percentage (48.4%) to the men reported to authorities.
The INE study indicates that 42.2% of women who suffered violence were in a relationship with the reported man or ex-partner, while 34.7% were girlfriends or ex-girlfriends.
In addition, 22.1% were spouses or ex-spouses and 1% were in the process of separating.
