The Rural Association of Women Tiemar has launched the Comprehensive Care Center for Women, a "new resource that will complement the care and attention network for victims of gender violence on the island and the advice, awareness and information services." This service will be added to that of the Cabildo's Equality and Attention Center for Women and associations such as Mararía.
This was explained by the Minister of Social Welfare, Marciano Acuña, during the press conference held on Tuesday, in which the new services to be offered through this project were presented. "Tiemar has put into operation this Center in which information will be provided, advice will be given and different support activities will be developed, mainly for women, and for victims of gender violence on the island, thanks to a subsidy from the Cabildo of Lanzarote of 9,155 euros," detailed the president of the association, Vicenta Monge.
This subsidy is part of one of the awards and concessions granted by the Department of Social Welfare of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the public tender, convened during 2013, for the development of social intervention projects on the island of Lanzarote.
Center hours and activities
Through this project, Tiemar has been able to hire two new professionals who during this quarter will support the rest of the staff, monitors and social workers, who currently carry out their work in the association. The Center is located on Santa Elena Street in Playa Honda, and although it is located in the municipality of San Bartolomé, it has an island character.
The Comprehensive Care Center for Women opens its doors from Monday to Friday, in the morning and afternoon, and is open to all those who require it. Likewise, the president of Tiemar specified that "during this 2014 several laughter therapy workshops and various activities will be carried out in which we will work from a gender perspective."
Similarly, the Councilor for Social Affairs and First Deputy Mayor of the City Council of San Bartolomé, Carmen González, valued the "enormous effort made by the members of the association." The City Council also collaborates with the transfer of the center's facilities and with another premises also located in Playa Honda, in the Civic Center, as well as providing logistical support in various initiatives.
In this premises of the Playa Honda Civic Center, Tiemar is currently developing several activities with self-awareness groups. During this presentation they also stated that "there is an increasing number of women who currently demand a place to recover their self-esteem and receive support from other people and professionals, once they have been cared for and assisted in the CIAM and in the network of the Cabildo of Lanzarote".
2013 data
On the other hand, the Minister of Social Welfare, Marciano Acuña, highlighted "the need to continue influencing and maintaining equality and attention policies to gender violence on the island, given that during the past 2013 there is a greater awareness of the victims in reporting due to the increase in the number of activations of the emergency device for assaulted women (DEMA)".
During 2012, the DEMA device was alerted on 64 occasions, while last year it increased considerably reaching 92 alerts. Of these 92, 86 were attended compared to 47 in 2012.
Likewise, the number of women who were welcomed in some lodging resource for women victims of gender violence of the Cabildo, alerted by this DEMA device, reached 22 people, as well as the number of minors who were under their care; compared to the 12 women and 2 minors who were welcomed in 2012. This reception, through the DEMA, is carried out in the Immediate Reception Centers for a period of 96 hours.
The total number of women who were welcomed in the Immediate Reception Center (CAI), either through the DEMA or another resource, was 30 in 2013, increasing by 13 women compared to 2012. The number of minors welcomed in the CAI, during the past year, was 27 compared to only 5 in 2012. The maximum time of reception in this center is 15 days.
Shelter Home
In the Shelter Home, also managed through the care network of resources of the Department of Social Welfare of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, 11 women and 5 minors were attended in 2012, increasing to reach 17 and 13, respectively, during 2013. The maximum stay in this Home is twelve months.
For the Minister of Social Welfare, "these data show that, on the one hand, the service has become more visible, the population reports more; and, on the other hand, that the crisis leads women to have to resort with their children to the lodging resources that we manage from the Cabildo to continue living".
Finally, he specified that "all these services and the care network that is provided on the island of Lanzarote, has been guaranteed again with more than 700,000 euros, through the agreement approved at the end of last year by the Plenary of the first Corporation, between the Institution and the Government of the Canary Islands for attention to equality and gender violence in Lanzarote".