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10 June 2004
MADRID –Women who are the victims of domestic violence could be offered personalised protection by police even before alleged attackers have even been taken to court, it emerged Thursday.
Police would evaluate the level of risk for each woman before offering personalised protection under new proposals being considered by the Commission for the Pursuit of Protection.
The Commission is trying to find ways to stop women becoming victims of domestic violence.
The proposal comes after a female judge in Barcelona recently said there had been a number of false accusations by ‘victims’ who were trying to exploit the existing system.
Domestic violence is an important political issue in Spain as at least one woman dies every week.
The latest victim was a 63-year-old woman who was stabbed to death Thursday.
The Guardia Civil said it appeared she had been killed by her husband in her home in Huescar, near Granada in Andalusia in southern Spain.
She had been stabbed repeatedly with a knife.
At first the 70-year-old husband hid after the murder, then tried to end his own life by throwing himself off a bridge.
It brings the number of women who have been killed by partners or husbands this year to 32.
Prime minister Jose Lluis Rodriguez Zapatero launched a raft of measures last week to stamp out the “plague” of domestic violence.
These include better protection of victims, more specialised police and judiciary and harsher sentences for attackers.
The latest proposal was put before the Commission Thursday by Montserrat Comas, of the Observatory Against Domestic Violence.
She said it would “improve police efficiency and coordination” with the justice system.
Women may also be offered 24-hour protection if it is appropriate, mobile phones to keep in contact with police. Attackers may also be electronically tagged.
Under existing protection orders, partners with a history of violence may not come within 500 metres of victims.
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]
Subject: Spanish news