The PSOE of Lanzarote paid tribute last Monday, at the Casa del Pueblo in Arrecife, to the 20 women murdered due to gender-based violence on the island in the last three decades, in an emotional event that brought together numerous public officials, militants, and socialist sympathizers.
The event was opened by Eva de Anta, local equality secretary for the PSOE in Arrecife and former mayor of the city, featured the participation of the island's equality secretary, Paula Corujo, and was closed by the general secretary of the PSOE of Lanzarote and Member of Parliament, María Dolores CorujoDuring the ceremony, the PSOE unveiled a commemorative plaque at the Casa del Pueblo with the names of the 20 women murdered on the island: Juana Tavío Rodríguez, Elin Sophie Hansen, Leila Hamed, Fátima Cabrera, Fuencisla Espinosa, Susana Socorro, Elena Rodríguez de Rada, María Mercedes Torres, Bárbara Masd, Dagmar S., P. G. R., Carmen Caballero, Yasmila Arrocha, Cathaysa Rodríguez, Expedita Santana, Yuliza Pérez, Mara Serighelli, Verónica, Araceli Araújo, and Romina Celeste Núñez.
On that list is, among others, Fuencisla Espinosa, whose murder in Arrecife in the late nineties deeply affected Lanzarote society and provoked protests and demonstrations of repulsion; also Expedita Santana, Cathaysa Rodríguez, or Yasmila Arrocha, names that remain very present in the memory of neighborhoods and families on the island. The objective, they stressed, is that their names "will never again be mentioned only in the crime pages, but as part of collective memory and the commitment of all society to ensure it is not repeated".
María Dolores Corujo highlighted that the tribute "is not an exercise in nostalgia, but an act of justice and present responsibility." "In Lanzarote, in just three decades, twenty women have been murdered due to gender-based violence. They are not statistics, they are not numbers: they are broken lives, shattered families, neighborhoods that were never the same again. Today we wanted to write their names on this plaque to tell them, as a society, that we have not forgotten them and that their memory obliges us to keep fighting," she stated.
The socialist leader recalled that sexist violence "is not a closed chapter of the past, nor a distant reality" and warned about the current context: "We are talking about a violence that is still here and that grows when it is denied, when it is relativized, or when it is used as a projectile weapon. Today we live in a moment of organized denialism, with political forces that reach institutions saying that sexist violence does not exist, that laws are a privilege for women, or that feminism is a racket. That discourse is not innocent: it leaves the victim more alone and the aggressor stronger."Corujo vindicated the decisive role of the feminist movement and socialist governments in the fight against this scourge:"In 2004, under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain took a historic step with the Comprehensive Law against Gender Violence, which forever changed the way this violence was viewed and combated. And today, under Pedro Sánchez, that commitment is maintained and reinforced: Pedro Sánchez multiplies spending by 650% in his Equality Plan compared to Mariano Rajoy's. When the right shouts that this is ideology, the facts are clear: more resources to protect victims, to train professionals, to prevent in classrooms, and to support women's associations that are on the front lines."
Faced with cuts and denialism, the general secretary of the PSOE of Lanzarote was blunt: "From the Socialist Party of Lanzarote we say it with absolute clarity: we are not going to allow a single step backward. We are going to defend the Comprehensive Law, the State Pact, and every euro allocated to equality policies. Because when you cut equality, you are not cutting ideology: you are cutting security, protection, and lives".
Corujo also had direct words for women who are still experiencing violence today: “To the women who may be listening to us today, to those who live in fear in their own homes, I want to tell you something very simple: it is not your fault, you are not alone, and there is a way out. There are resources, there are professionals, there are associations, and there are institutions willing to accompany you. What you will not find in the PSOE is indifference or silence.”
The event concluded with the reading of the names of the 20 murdered women, a minute of silence, and a shared commitment from the PSOE of Lanzarote to continue working, from within institutions and civil society, to make the island "a fairer, safer, and more habitable place for all women.""The best way to honor **Juana, Elin Sophie, Leila, Fátima, Fuencisla, Susana, Elena, María Mercedes, Bárbara, Dagmar, P. G. R., Carmen, Yasmila, Cathaysa, Expedita, Yuliza, Mara, Verónica, Araceli, and Romina** is not just to remember how they died, but to commit ourselves, every day, to changing the conditions that made their murder possible," Corujo concluded
