Sexual assaults and sexual violence are a reality in Lanzarote as they are in the rest of the world. The taboo surrounding this issue is beginning to crumble as public institutions join forces to detect cases, support victims and denounce aggressors. Among the new advances, and since 2015, the island has the Family and Women's Care Unit (UFAM), which is dedicated to preventing and investigating crimes of gender violence, domestic violence and sexual violence.
"The Council of Europe and the World Health Organization (WHO) reveal that one in five minors is sexually assaulted. If we talk about one in five, it means that surely some of the minors we know, unfortunately, have suffered this type of crime and surely many of the older people," says the head of the Family and Women's Care Unit of the National Police of Arrecife, Inspector María Mayordomo.
"Every time you talk, many people confess. There are parents who say I also suffered this as a child. In the end, these are crimes that occur mainly in a family environment and that are very difficult to report. So the role that UFAM plays in raising awareness and prevention is important," reflects Mayordomo.
Sexual assaults cause in minors "physical problems, eating problems, anxiety, depression, problems of low self-esteem, low school performance, changes in behavior and many times we do not know what it is due to, because sometimes it is due, unfortunately, to this type of events", says the inspector of the National Police.
Specialization to work with victims
"We are here for and for the people, we are a public service for the citizens and a service to turn to in the worst moments," reflects agent Sandra Sánchez, delegate of Citizen Participation of the police station of the National Police in Arrecife. Her group works collaboratively with UFAM. "The National Police working in coordination is doing a function that is taking many people out of that horrendous hole or state," begins María Mayordomo.
"Thanks to the training of specialization we get that link with that minor. I think that in any branch that specialization is fundamental, but when we talk about such sensitive crimes, it is crucial," says María Mayordomo.
Among the different proposals of the Citizen Participation Area is the Director Plan for Coexistence and Security in School Environments, through this initiative Sánchez offers talks in schools and informs about bullying or the risks of the internet to minors.
"That our minors have that vision of closeness is fundamental because we do not realize that if a minor has any problem we will always be there," explains Sánchez.
The UFAM belongs to the Local Brigade of the Judicial Police of Arrecife. When dealing with people who have suffered a sexual assault or have been victims of gender violence, the agents of the National Police need to be specialized and know how to respond. "Sometimes when someone arrives at the police station they do not want to talk, they do not know you or you have to, in a short time, gain their trust and know how to deal with that person," says the inspector.
"If it already hurts us that they steal our wallet, when they touch us it is something much more painful," reflects the head of the Family and Women's Care Unit.
In the moments of taking a statement, "our head is with the victim, but at the same time is thinking, what do I need to discover who has been the perpetrator of those acts, that is, you have to be in a lot of points at the same time," explains María Mayordomo.
Likewise, in addition to the joint work between different areas, it highlights the need for collaboration also with the other institutions involved such as the courts, forensic doctors or Social Affairs Services.
Advances in the protection of children
"Canarias has something very interesting in terms of care for women and minors victims of gender or sexual violence," says María Mayordomo. In addition, the inspector highlights that in Las Palmas is the First Specialized Court for minor victims, a pioneer at the national level. At the same time, she does not rule out working to create a room for sexual and gender victims in the police station. "Hopefully we can give this news soon," she says.
When a victim comes to report a sexual abuse or a situation of violence, she does not usually leave UFAM. "When they enter a police station, when you take a victim, thanks to the work of everyone we have not had anyone who leaves because in the end they see that you are there to help them. It is difficult to tell that you have suffered violence inside your house or that you are a victim of an assault. "Thanks to the fundamental work we do in these units we achieve it".
The figure of the female police officer
When two uniformed agents of the National Police walk through Lanzarote there are some looks of surprise. "What strikes me a lot is that there are people who are shocked that there are women within the National Police," adds the inspector.
"The National Police is an institution that always goes hand in hand with society. 43 years ago, in 1979, the first women began to enter, this already that to whom it shocks to see a woman in uniform today the strange thing will be to the one who is surprised. The functions are totally the same and each person once inside chooses where he wants his way".
However, parity has not yet been achieved. In the National Police Corps in Lanzarote there are 13% of women. This figure is lower than in the rest of the country, where women occupy 17% of the staff of the Corps. By scales, from lowest to highest rank, there is no female sub-inspector; in the executive scale of inspectors and chief inspectors there is only one female inspector, María Mayordomo, and in the upper part as commissioners there are no women either. "We have no barriers when entering or promoting, it is the motivation that each one has where you want to work," says Mayordomo.
"I like to talk about highlighting my figure as a female police officer when I go to schools and you become a role model for those girls, you see those faces of illusion, that it is possible," adds agent Sandra Sánchez.
In this sense, there is a centralized office in Madrid that tries to balance the proportion of men and women in the corps, as well as protocols for sexual harassment and discrimination. "The cases are minimal but if they exist, like the laws, it is because something is not yet fully balanced but like society in general," reveals Mayordomo.
Dreams of becoming agents of the National Police
Agent Sandra Sánchez is from a "very small" town in Fuerteventura. "My parents when I was little told me you dream of what you want to be when you grow up and we will try to help you. I practiced many different sports and I wanted to be a physical education teacher. I studied, studied and studied and I became a physical education teacher. I finished the degree very young and I had another dream: to be a National Police officer. So I studied until I became an agent. I tell them: you are at the age of dreaming what you want to be when you grow up and anything is possible".
About whether she always had clear to become a National Police officer, María Mayordomo reveals that although since she was little she knew she wanted to be a police officer, being from the north of the country and growing up with the terrorist group ETA dissuaded her, at first she studied communication. "I went abroad, I was in Madrid working and then I wondered what I wanted to be and I fought to be a National Police officer," she says.
