Sexist Violence in Spain: 15 Women Murdered in July and August

Sexist violence left a black trail of victims this summer in Spain, where at least fifteen women were murdered between July and August by their partners or ex-partners, according to data from the Ministry of Equality, which already warned at the beginning of the summer of the danger of these dates.

In July there were eight and in August there were seven -in the absence of confirmation of the macho nature of the murder of a 58-year-old woman committed this week-, to which are added another four murdered in June. Of them, only four had filed previous complaints against their attackers.

These murders increased the victims of gender violence in 2023 to forty, 10 more than at this point in 2022 in Spain.

Almost 50% of the sexist murders this year were committed during the summer, a percentage considerably higher than the average of the historical series that began in 2003, which already has 1,124 victims, 28% of whom were murdered between June and August.

In addition, this year's data represents an increase compared to the last two summers, in which the number of fatalities had been reduced.

The victims of this summer

The last victim of the summer was Raquel, 58 , murdered this week by her ex-husband, a retired police officer who ended his life after barricading himself with her in a house in Alzira (Valencia, east).

Also yesterday the macho crime of Charo, 40, was confirmed, which had been preceded by the murder of Encarni, 63 , last week; that of Soledad, 50 ; Juana's, 31; Evarista's, 91, and Zhour's, 27.

The first victim of the summer was Zhen Jiang, 47 , who was murdered by her partner on July 1 at the bar they both ran.

Behind her they lost their lives at the hands of their partners and ex-partners Kirsty, 36; Carmen, 54; Carla, 27; Salwa, 35; Ilham, 38; another 29-year-old woman and Erica Vanessa, 22.

In addition, last week it was confirmed that what had apparently been a car accident last May in the province of Granada (south) was actually the sexist murder of Encarni, 39, who was suffocated by her husband and placed in the crashed car to conceal the actual cause of death.

Two crisis committees

Before these figures, the Ministry of Equality convened two crisis committees this summer, one last July and another next Monday, in which the seven murders of August will be analyzed.

This mechanism is convened in the months with a "high concentration" of sexist murders -five or more- or in the face of those femicides in which circumstances of "special relevance" occur.

Since this body was created in July 2022, five committees have been convened : one in December last year, when 11 sexist crimes took place; another in January 2023, with 8 femicides; one in May, for the 6 registered murders; and the two of July and August.

Read also: Femicides: Latin America on Red Alert

Summer danger

At the beginning of August, the Government Delegate against gender violence, Victoria Rosell, already warned that "summer is a compromised time for women who suffer abuse" due to the greater coexistence that occurs with their aggressors due to vacations.

Faced with this situation, in the crisis committee last July, proposals were launched such as insisting on the need for specialized resources in typical summer leisure spaces, such as the hotel sector, nightlife, festivals, swimming pools or the hospitality industry.

Also, after this meeting, the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, warned society that "in these months we need a special alert" and assured that "we can always do something to reach out to a victim."