The Government of the Canary Islands regrets the death of a woman in Lanzarote, a victim of gender violence, according to indications obtained so far in the police investigation. The Canarian Executive, through the general director of the Canarian Institute for Equality (ICI), Elena Máñez, condemns the murder of this woman allegedly by her partner, a circumstance that has made her the third victim of gender violence in 2011 in the Canary Islands.
Máñez has publicly conveyed, on behalf of the Government of the Canary Islands, condolences to the family of the victim, and has reminded women who suffer gender violence that they have support from public institutions and non-profit associations to break the cycle of violence in which they are trapped. Máñez encouraged women to "request public support from the first moment", going to the administrations specialized in the care of these cases. "They must know and feel that they are not alone," said the director of the ICI.
The general director of the ICI considers it appropriate to remember that "only by joining efforts and increasing social awareness against gender violence can we eradicate this always condemnable behavior, which has its most dramatic expression when a death occurs as it happened today in Lanzarote".
For Máñez, it is essential that information regarding the phenomenon of gender violence occupies more spaces in the media. "Beyond the details generated by the news of the death of another woman due to sexist violence, we must publicly delve into the causes that surround it as a constructive way to isolate these always unjustifiable behaviors".
The general director of the ICI has made a call in this regard to the media, to whom she has thanked for the work they do and has asked them to continue with the "important work they do in disseminating this reality, with responsibility and deepening the global phenomenon in order to improve the analysis and knowledge of these sexist behaviors to combat them more efficiently".
