The Balearic parliament today paid tribute to the 48 women who have died in Spain this year because of gender violence. A ceremony to mark tomorrow’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was attended by, among others, the president of the Balearics, Francina Armengol, the Speaker of parliament, Xelo Huertas, the mayor of Palma, José Hila, and the national government’s delegate to the Balearics, Teresa Palmer.
Forty-eight candles were lit to remember the women, the ceremony ending with a minute’s silence following a reading by Huertas of the parliament’s declaration against gender violence that was approved last month.
Under this declaration, parliament unanimously urged the regional government to promote “a political, social and institutional pact against gender violence, co-ordinated by the Balearic Institute for Women.” The agreement also called on the government to review and evaluate tools, protocols, programmes, action plans and training with the participation of all agencies and professionals engaged in victim prevention and care. In addition, government has been requested to provide a sufficient budget to be devoted to violence against women and in particular for social assistance to victims and their children.
The declaration noted that, since 2005, twenty-one women in the Balearics have been killed by their partners or former partners. Furthermore, parliament pronounced in favour of a reconsideration of the law on gender violence to include the victims of assault outside of relationships, such as the mothers of children who are killed and women subjected to mutilation and forced marriage.