Speech by the President of the Government of Spain at the institutional event on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Pavon Theatre, Madrid

SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN, PEDRO SÁNCHEZ

Dear Francina, President of the Lower House of Parliament, Ministers, Secretary of Equality for the Eradication of Gender Violence, Government Delegate against Gender Violence, Government Delegate, authorities, ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to begin this speech by condemning the latest male-perpetrated murder that took place this weekend in Estepa, in Seville. As I have already said, this brings to 41 the number of women killed by gender violence so far in 2024. And this figure reminds us that we must continue to fight with all our might against this infamy.

And in this relentless battle, I can only have words of gratitude for those who are receiving this well-deserved recognition today for doing just that- fighting against the structural violence that is gender-based. Because you are an example of involvement, of leadership, of civic commitment to one of the noblest causes facing humanity. So thank you for informing, thank you for raising awareness, thank you for defending, thank you for educating and for accompanying us in this battle to eradicate this evil from our society once and for all. I would also like to thank the many anonymous people who fight against violence against women on a daily basis; people who give their all in this battle and who sometimes literally put their lives on the line. So thank you very much.

Ladies and gentlemen, this 25 November is also very special, and I think it is important that we remind ourselves of this, because we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Integral Law on Gender Violence. We must celebrate that first step taken by Spain when the country forced itself to look squarely at a reality hidden behind the veil of silence and oblivion.

Last week, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said that this law was marked by a terrible episode we all still have in our minds and in our hearts. An event that made us open our eyes as a society: the vile murder of Ana Orantes. Her testimony on television just a few days prior to her murder still shocks us today as it shook millions of dormant consciences then, teaching us something very important: that we cannot be indifferent to the signs that suddenly appear on the face of a friend, or to the screams that creep in from the other side of the wall, or of course, to the lost look of a child who day after day stands in to protect their mother from the blows.

Thanks to that testimony, we learned that this violence was our responsibility, the responsibility of society as a whole, and over time we have become more aware of the multiple manifestations of this violence, which are sometimes less obvious or aggressive, but no less painful for the women who suffer it. And harassment, cyber-violence and psychological violence have all been reported here too. That law was passed unanimously, and that spirit of consensus also encouraged the approval in 2017 of the State Pact against Gender Violence, a transcendental step, which was consistent with that law, to make progress in prevention, protection and assistance to victims. It was, undoubtedly, 20 years later, a pioneering law not only in Spain, but also in Europe and the world, making Spain a world reference. It was the second of its kind to be implemented in Europe. It represented not only the culmination of a long history of demands by the feminist movement in Spain, but also the starting point of what is today one of the most advanced legislations in the world.

Furthermore, this law represented a paradigm shift, because it placed violence that until then had been confined to the private sphere at the centre of the debate, recognising its structural nature and the fact that it is common to all strata of our society. The regulation also targeted denigrating euphemisms, such as the expression used - and we all remember it - "crime of passion"; expressions that were and unfortunately are shared with others such as domestic violence and intra-family violence. In short, they all share the same objective among those who unfortunately still use them, and that is to dilute the consequently systemic structural and sexist nature of the aggressions suffered by women simply because they are women.

This strategy of involution moves from language to deeds, and we are all familiar with the consequences. All are absolutely devastating. For the first time in many years, the general consensus on gender-based violence and the need to promote and strengthen equality policies is being challenged, and not only in Spain. At international level, we are now seeing achievements that we thought were a given being questioned unscrupulously and shamelessly by a far right that is not only advancing electorally, but is also increasingly conditioning the political discourse in Europe, in the world and, therefore also in Spain. To this effect, established rights are being overturned, as in the US, where the Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion at federal level. And then there are the examples that we are also seeing in some of our country's city councils.

And there is something else I would like to share with you, and that is that we are witnessing an increasingly worrying fracture. Among our young people, especially among men, there is growing suspicion of the achievements of the women's movement. The reasoning is as disturbing as it is fallacious, and the belief is that these advances put their rights at risk. What is more, this drift is fuelled, as in many other areas, by the fake news and misinformation that spread like wildfire on social networks.

I believe we must all raise our voices against this regression. We must fight this discourse with determination, with more conviction than ever. Not only because it pollutes the public debate, but also because it radically denies something that should be unquestionable, which is that the cause of women's equality, and especially the fight against violence against those who suffer it, is above all a question of human rights.

In short, I am convinced that Spain will continue to be a point of reference throughout the world on this battle front. I am convinced, moreover, that what our young people, our young women, want is to continue advancing in a majority way in this feminist conquest. Because we are the most aware country in Europe when it comes to gender-based violence, and this gives us grounds for further progress, especially in two areas that I would like to mention now. The first is my belief that it is fundamental and essential to maintain at least a consensus between the main majority political forces- as we did earlier when we were celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Comprehensive Law to Combat Gender Violence. And it is in this spirit that we are working with all the parliamentary groups in the parliamentary subcommittee- except the far right- to renew the State Pact and update it to include new forms of violence, such as, for example, violence suffered in the digital sphere, or economic violence, or unfortunately - as we have been seeing recently and as has been mentioned here - vicarious violence. We must put political differences aside and renew this great agreement, and we must renew it as soon as possible.

And second, along with this essential unanimity, or at least a majority consensus among the parliamentary forces, it is clear that we must put more resources on the table. More resources for prevention - without a doubt - but also more resources for protection, improving the speed and scope of useful means, such as the VioGen system, which already reaches more than 100,000 women, 1,200 adolescents and 1,700 children. And also more resources to prosecute and punish abusers, with the creation of the Courts for Violence against Women and the reform of the Central Register of Sex Offenders; and to improve access to justice with the Offices for Assistance to Victims of Crime.

In short, I believe that the steps we are taking in the past and in the present, ladies and gentlemen, have made it possible to protect thousands of women and save many lives. But it is clear that we cannot deny what is obvious, and that is that there is still a long way to go to eradicate a violence that remains deeply rooted in our society.

We need more and better cooperation and coordination between institutions, the state law enforcement forces and agencies, and legal operators. We need to fight the battle in the field of values and awareness. But first and foremost, we need to continue to face this drastic reality and fight against resignation to the inevitable.

I think this is a message I would like to see come out determinedly from this 25-N: that we cannot resign ourselves to the seemingly inevitable. I believe that your struggle is an absolute priority for Spanish society as a whole and, therefore, it is an absolute priority for the Government of Spain. And we will act accordingly because society is asking us not to look the other way. Neither solitude nor silence will ever again be an alibi for inaction. Because every woman who dies at the hands of her partner or ex-partner, every woman who suffers gender violence in its many forms, is a democratic defeat, a defeat for our democracy.

For all those who are no longer here and for those who are currently suffering from this violence, let us ensure that on this 25 November, and on every day of the year, their pain will never again be met with indifference.

Thank you very much.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Non official translation