The City Police moves forward in the fight against gender violence
The City Police has set out everything it has been doing in the sphere of gender violence for several years with the Plan for Prevention, Detection and Care on Gender Violence, ‘T’acompanyem’. Backed up by a government measure from December 2020, this action plan is for a specific service to prevent and detect risk situations, improve support for women and children and boost coordination with all other services. The goal is to address the invisibility of this issue, summed up by one figure: 77% of women killed through gender violence in 2021 had never denounced their aggressor.The plan sets out a series of specific measures to pursue areas of work in greater depth, such as action in public space or on public transport, security at events and specific training.
Guia d’indicadors d’alerta: an innovative tool for warning signs
A new operational procedure for patrols attending to potential cases of domestic violence, making this type of aggression more visible.
The guide is a pioneering tool for security corps, helping officers with their work when it comes to spotting the signs of possible maltreatment but where there are not enough elements to bring criminal action.
The guide has twenty points which enable a criminal report to be created later. Where sexist violence is ruled out but there is evidence of a vulnerable environment, this situation is then conveyed to Social Services.
The guide takes into account:
- Previous violence on record
- Declarations from neighbours
- Appearance and attitude of the presumed aggressor
- Appearance of the home
- Where minors are present: possible signs or effects of injuries, severe lack of hygiene etc.
- Appearance and attitude of the victim: signs or effects of injuries, contradictory version of events, low self-esteem, attitude of warning or submission etc.
Reference figure in each district
A figure for each city district has been created, offering a reference officer for gender violence who will analyse incidents which the police have handled. This task will be conducted thanks to the guide, with follow-up for possible non-criminal cases.
These reference figures will coordinate with services specialising in gender violence: the Mossos d’Esquadra police corps, Social Services, the SARA, Women’s Support and Information Points, the Men’s Support and Health Service etc.
Standing Committee on the Management of Cases of Sexist Violence
The Standing Committee on the Management of Cases of Sexist Violence is a working space for sharing information to increase the early detection of violence and be able to prevent it through intervention strategies, respecting the autonomy of women at all times.
The committee is made up of the Manager’s Office for Prevention and Security, various services answering to the Directorate for Feminism and LGBTI Services, Social Services, the Directorate for Prevention Services, the City Police and the Mossos d’Esquadra.
Boards are currently up and running in the districts of Sant Martí, Horta-Guinardó, Sant Andreu and L’Eixample. The rest of the districts will have them by March 2022. The commissions have detected 208 cases of women with indicators showing they are in a vulnerable situation. In all, 78 of these are already connected to the municipal support network for gender violence, while 4 have refused support or advice from care services.
