Reports of gender violence registered in the judicial bodies of the Canary Islands between April and June of this year decreased by 1.8%, compared to the same period of 2023.
During the spring of last year, the Courts of the islands registered 2,818 reports of gender violence, while this year it has slightly decreased to 2,767 women affected by this scourge. This is reported by the data released this Wednesday by the Observatory against Domestic and Gender Violence of the General Council of the Judiciary.
According to the report, the number of women victims of gender violence in the Canary Islands also decreased between April and June of this year compared to the same period of 2023. Then, it went from 2,818 to 2,621, 197 less, a percentage decrease of 7%.
According to official data, the Canary Islands registered during the second
quarter of this year a rate of 23.1 women victims of gender violence per 10,000, the third highest in the State after the Balearic Islands (28.5) and the Valencian Community (24.1).
The national average was 18.5 women victims of gender violence per 10,000, 4.6 points below the Canary Islands ratio. The territories with the lowest rate were Castilla y León (11.9), La Rioja (12.5) and Galicia (13.1) in the study period.
Nearly three out of ten victims are foreign women
The Observatory's report offers more data: of the 2,767 women victims of violence in the Canary Islands in the study period, 1,817 were Spanish (12 of them minors) and 804 were foreign. 341 of the alleged victims availed themselves during the processing of the process to the dispensation to the obligation to testify against their alleged aggressor, 21.4% less than in the second quarter of the previous year, when 434 had not confirmed the complaints.
Helpline for women victims of gender violence 016
More than 850 convictions
During last spring, the Canary Islands judicial bodies that judged cases of gender violence issued 851 convictions (4% more than in the second quarter of 2023), 48 acquittals (54.8% more than in the previous year), 134 free dismissal orders (+8.9%) and 880 provisional dismissal orders of the proceedings (-26.4%).
The percentage of convictions was 94.7% (-1.8%) and that of termination by provisional dismissal, 86.8% (4.3% less than in the same period of the previous year). With regard to defendants, last spring 901 people sat on the bench in the Canary Islands for sexist crimes (4% more than in the second quarter of 2023), with 94.6% being convicted (1.8% less than in the second quarter of 2023).
Six out of four convicts were Spanish
Of those convicted, 551 were Spanish citizens and 301 were foreigners. As for protection orders, the Canary Islands courts registered 472 requests this spring, 0.2% more than in 2023. Of these, the courts did not reject any, adopted 366 (0.5% less than in the same period of 2023) and denied 106 (+2.9%).
The Observatory's study offers for the fourth year data broken down by
islands. Between April and June 2024, 213 were registered in Fuerteventura
reports of crimes of violence against women; in Gran Canaria, 1,241; in Lanzarote, 164; in El Hierro, 5; in La Gomera, 10; in La Palma 62, and in Tenerife, 1,292. In the vast majority of cases, crimes of injury and ill-treatment were reported.
In addition, between January and March of this year, they received 129 reports of gender violence, according to data from the General Council of the Judiciary in Arrecife.
More than 46,100 women victims throughout the country
With regard to national data, the main indicators of gender violence remained during the second quarter of 2024 at similar figures to those of a year ago. Although the number of complaints filed in the courts of violence against women increased by 4.79%, the number of victims decreased by 1.44%. The number of protection orders requested was very similar to that of the second quarter of 2023, as a total of 12,674 were requested, just 0.7% less.
According to the Quarterly Report on Gender Violence, between April and June there were in Spain a total of 46,135 women victims and 50,536 complaints were filed. The study shows a year-on-year decrease of 3.6% in the number of protection orders agreed by the courts of violence against women and by the courts on duty; as for the judgments handed down, there were 16,962, 10.1% more than a year ago; and, of these, 80.27% were convictions.
During the second quarter of 2024, the courts of violence against women throughout Spain received a total of 50,536 complaints, 4.79% more than in the same period of the previous year, in which 48,227 were registered.
The women victims of gender violence were 46,135, 1.44% less than a year ago, when 46,808 were counted. One more quarter, two out of three victims (62.82%) are of Spanish nationality, while the remaining 37.18% come from other countries. The number of minor victims under guardianship amounted to 141, a figure 3.6% higher than that recorded in the same quarter of 2023 (136).
The rate of victims of gender violence per 10,000 women decreased in relation to that of the second quarter of 2023, with the national average standing at 18.5 compared to the average of 19.2 a year ago.
Canary Islands, above the national average
Above the national average were Balearic Islands, with a ratio of 28.5 victims per 10,000 women; Valencian Community, with 24.1; Canary Islands, with 23.1; Murcia, with 22.4; Navarra, with 21.5; Andalusia, with 21.1; and Madrid with 19.4. The rates below the national average were recorded in Castilla y León, with 11.9; La Rioja, with 12.5; Galicia, with 13.1; Cantabria, with 13.5; Basque Country, with 14; Extremadura, with 14.3; Catalonia, with 15.1; Castilla-La Mancha, with 15.3; Asturias, with 15.9; and Aragon, with 17.6.
The percentages of complaints filed depending on who was the complainant showed minimal variations during the quarter analyzed. Thus, once again, in two out of three cases (36,735, 72.69%), the complaints were filed by the victim herself either in court or at the police station.
The complaints filed by the victim's environment (867) were again very low in number, barely reaching 1.72% of the total. Those derived directly from police reports (8,027) increased slightly, representing 15.88 percent of the total. Those originating from a part of injuries received in court were 3,330 (6.59%), while those presented by third parties totaled 1,577 and represented 3.12 percent of the total.
Ten out of 100 victims refused to testify against their aggressor
The percentage of victims who availed themselves of the legal obligation to testify again experienced a significant increase: 9.26% more than in the same period of 2023, which means that 11.23 out of every hundred women victims of gender violence made this decision. In the quarter analyzed, 5,181 women victims waived their right to testify against their aggressor; of these, 2,792 (53.88%) were Spanish and 2,389 (46.11%) were of other nationalities.
67.7% of the protection orders requested were adopted
Between April and June of this year, a total of 12,674 protection orders were requested in the judicial bodies, 0.7% less than a year ago. Of these, 10,604 were initiated by the courts of violence against women and 2,070 by the courts on duty.
The protection orders adopted totaled 8,589, 3.6% less than a year ago, which means that seven out of ten (67.7%) were granted. The courts of violence against women adopted 7,051, 66.5% of the requests they received, while the courts on duty agreed 1,538, 74% of the requests registered.
In 45.7% of the cases, the relationship (spouse or affective relationship) was maintained at the time of requesting the protection order to the judicial body. Two out of three women (6,738, 63.5%) who requested protection were Spanish and 248, 2.3% of the total counting Spanish and foreign women, were minors.
