Two more victims bring domestic death toll to 49

21 August 2006

MADRID — Two more women died at their hands of their partners on Monday, bringing the number of victims of domestic violence to 49 this year.

A 19-year-old woman was shot dead in Alcaudete, near Jaén, Andalucia, by her boyfriend, who turned the gun on himself, said the Guardia Civil.

She had split up with the man recently.

Meanwhile, in Villafranca del Penedés, near Barcelona,  a 33-year-old Bolivian threw his wife out of the window. She died instantly.

The husband was found with the body of his 32-year-old wife and arrested.

Nine women were killed by their ex partners or boyfriends in January and March. In other months, the death toll was lower, said authorities.

The highest number of deaths was in Andalucía, where 11 women were murdered, followed by Madrid and Catalonia with seven deaths apiece.

Almost half the victims, or 23, were aged between 31-40.

Ten were aged between 21-30, another six between 41-50, another four between 51-64 and two between 18-20.

Twenty-six victims were Spaniards, five were from EU countries, eight were from Latin America, two were from Eastern Europe, two were Africans and the nationalities of two others were unknown.

When the present government came to power over two years ago, they introduced a tough new law to crack down on domestic violence.

A specialised judiciary was brought in along with teams of police who were trained with dealing with victims of this type of crime.

Penalties for offenders were also increased and more measures were introduced to protect victims.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news