The Delegation of the Government of Spain in Aragon has delivered this morning its Meninese Recognitions, which reward each year the people and institutions that have stood out in their fight against violence against women. In the ceremony, as part of the celebration of the International Day against this scourge, the awards went to the Spanish teacher in Zaragoza, Esmeralda Guevara, for her work to free a woman kidnapped in Pakistan by her husband; to the inspectors of the Care, Family and Women Unit (UFAM) of the National Police, Clara Pérez and Yolanda Mateo; to the project Tejendo Sorority of the Monegros district and to the Coordinator of Feminist Organizations of Teruel.
The event was presided over by the Delegate of the Government of Spain in Aragon, Fernando Beltrán, who lamented the murder this year of a woman at the hands of her former partner in Villanueva de Gállego. She has been the 33rd deadly victim in the Autonomous Community since there are records. “In Aragón, to date, 2,152 women are receiving protection in different grades and we have managed to extend the Viogén agreement to 16 municipalities: La Almunia, Calatayud, Caspe, Cuarte, Pedrola, Pinseque, Tarazona, Tauste, Utebo, Zuera, Barbastro, Binéfar, Fraga, Huesca, Jaca and Alcañiz”, highlighted Beltrán when he recalled that this “active surveillance” that is done by the State Security Forces in collaboration with the local police is something “crucial” as it is that “each and every case is reported”. In this regard, he stressed that “it is increasingly difficult for acts against women to go unpunished.”
In Spain, 1,237 women have been murdered by their partners or ex-partners since 2003, when the scourge of male violence began to be counted. So far in 2023, 53 women have lost their lives at the hands of their aggressors, leaving 53 minors in orphanhood.
Beltrán highlighted in his speech his conviction that public representatives must “serve society and bring common sense, work and peace.” For this reason, it has “vigorously” rejected the use of gender violence as a political weapon. “Negationism contributes to the persistence of gender violence in our society, and to the fact that humiliations and humiliations are diffused and end up masking reality,” he said in relation to “political opportunism” that “manipulates our fundamental values and violates the mandate we have given ourselves to serve society, the Constitution and protect the victims.”
For the government delegate, the different ideologies “can never justify that from a seat or from any public space speeches are encouraged that nourish hatred and that turn themselves into the violence that we must rule out”, and he has indicated that the insult “highlights the lack of respect and is another form of violence that is exercised in the institutions”. That is why it has been decisive in indicating that it is “embarrassing” to see how in a parliament it is politically agreed to eliminate “something as basic as the concept of gender violence”.
The subdelegates of the Government of Spain in Zaragoza and Huesca attended the awards ceremony: Jorge Pastor and Carlos Campo.
When collecting their recognitions, Professor Esmeralda Guevara has pointed out that it is “fundamental to generate spaces of trust so that women can name and denounce the situations of abuse and violence to which they are subjected.”
And inspectors Clara Pérez and Yolanda Mateo have highlighted that they have formed a great human team in the National Police with “attitude and values, remembering that there is still a long way to go because “voices that rise against gender violence” are always necessary.
Tejendo Sorority explained that the monegrino project works in a network of support and mutual help “between women” by ascertaining that all those who have gone through traumatic processes are the best way to discover “their own light in the mirror of others”.
And the Coordinator of Feminist Organizations of Teruel has expressed that equality is “a fundamental right that enriches society” while highlighting the need for an affective and sexual education based on the values of feminism as the best way to achieve “a more egalitarian citizenship”.
The workers of the Anti-Violence Against Women Units of the Government Delegation in Aragon have also received a Space Menina. Its regional coordinator, Mónica del Real, has acknowledged that the work “is sometimes not easy” but that it is always “very gratifying” to be able to ensure that “all the resources available in the administrations are connected to form a network that supports and accompanies the victims”.
Resources against violence against women
In addition to telephone and online 016, other channels are established such as email 016-online@igualdad.gob.es, and people with hearing disabilities can access it through a text phone 900116016 or on the teller website. A special button has also been included in the ALERTCOPS app that allows women to send an alert signal with location, which facilitates faster intervention by state security forces and bodies if necessary.