• With these murders, the number of women killed in 2026 by their partners or ex-partners rises to 19

Toledo.- The Government Delegation in Castilla-La Mancha has shown its condemnation for the latest machista murders confirmed in the provinces of Tarragona and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The government delegate, José Pablo Sabrido, has roundly condemned these latest murders, showing his rejection and conveying his heartfelt condolences to the relatives and friends of the victims.

The victims are María Isabel, 58 years old and a neighbour of the province of Tarragona, and María Gema, 57 years old and a neighbour of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. With these cases, the number of women murdered by their partners or ex-partners in Spain amounts to 19 in 2026. Since 2003, when the collection of official data began, 1,360 women have already been killed for gender-based violence.

In addition to the Government delegate, the event was attended by representatives of the Government Delegation ' s Unit for Coordination against Violence against Women; representatives of the State Security Forces and Corps; members of other public administrations; and workers of the Delegation.

Statements by the delegate

The government delegate, José Pablo Sabrido, in addition to condemning the facts, showing his condolences and conveying his condolences to the family, has requested the collaboration of citizens and the media so that “the scourge of male violence is not consolidated.”

“This is a crime that is the coercion of women, not to consider women as a person with equal rights, freedoms and a dignity of a person one hundred percent,” said Sabrido, in addition to recalling that “not a single woman will be forgotten when she is killed by male violence.”

In this regard, the government delegate has explained that the celebration of minutes of silence in memory of the murdered women cannot become routine: “What would be a routine is not to make a permanent complaint, and you have to do it, maintain it and not forget it.”

Regarding the cases of María Isabel and María Gema, both murdered without prior complaints, Sabrido has encouraged the environment of the victims of gender violence to “be complicit in the complaints”: “There are women who do not report, but perhaps their neighbors, their friends, those who live nearby, can report, because any type of complaint is collected.”

Institutional declaration

In application of the protocol approved by the Ministry of Equality and the Ministry of Territorial Policy when a machista murder occurs, an institutional statement has been disseminated in which it is stressed that, as a democratic society, “we cannot tolerate any type of violence against women because they are women”.

Male violence “is a structural violence, based on sexist discrimination, inequality and imbalance in power relations between women and men. Violence against women and girls violates their fundamental rights to life, liberty, physical and moral integrity, equality and dignity.”

Likewise, the commitment of the institutions is reaffirmed in the face of the negationist approaches of male violence and an appeal is made to all administrations and society as a whole to maintain this struggle from unity and firmness, moving towards a more just, egalitarian and violence-free society against women.

Resources of Assistance

The Ministry of Equality, through the Government Delegation against Gender Violence, recalls that telephone 016, online consultations through email 016-online@igualdad.gob.es, the WhatsApp channel on the number 600 000 016 and the online chat available on the web violenciagenero.igualdad.gob.es, operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

The 016 provides advice on available remedies and the rights of victims of all forms of violence against women, as well as legal advice from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., every day of the week, with care in 53 languages and a service adapted to possible situations of disability.

In case of emergency, you can call 112 or the telephone numbers of the National Police (091) and the Civil Guard (062). If it is not possible to make a call, in a situation of danger the ALERTCOPS application can be used, which sends an alert signal with geolocation to the State Security Forces and Bodies.

These means can be activated by the victim and also by anyone who knows or suspects of a case of gender violence, since the eradication of this violence is a collective responsibility.