The subdelegate of the Government in Lugo, Isabel Rodríguez, informed today in Lourenzá that the “No Camines Sola” Campaign, for a Camino de Santiago free of machista violence, is present at 390 points of the Xacobea route as it passes through the province of Lugo. It is the program promoted by the units against Gender Violence of the autonomous communities through which the Camino de Santiago passes to reinforce the protection of pilgrims. Isabel Rodríguez presented this morning on initiative in an event that took place in the Plaza del Conde Santo de Lourenzá, in which the mayor, Rocío López, also participated; the president of the Official College of Pharmacists of the province, Alejandro Sánchez; the commander of the Civil Guard in Lugo, Carlos Barceló; and the head of the Unit against violence against women of the Government Subdelegation, María Luisa Castro.
The subdelegate explained that the campaign seeks to facilitate access to all resources and to raise awareness, prevent and report violence against women. With this objective, a specific material was prepared, which was distributed in the main points of reference for pilgrims. In the province of Lugo, 390 posters and 7,020 cards are distributed, published in Spanish and English, in 162 public and private shelters, 121 pharmacy offices, 52 hospital centres, 23 Civil Guard posts, 3 National Police stations, 10 local police stations and 20 tourist offices in 31 municipalities along the French, Primitive, Northern and Winter roads.
The cards include information about emergencies and State Security Forces and Bodies, as well as the AlertCops application, to communicate in real time any alert with location sending. A QR code will link them to a web of resources of the Executive to meet any need through the Government Delegation for Gender Violence, of the Ministry of Equality.
Strengthen women's safety
Isabel Rodríguez recalled that in 2022 53% of the 230,000 people who made the Camino de Santiago were women who, in addition, every day choose to do the tour alone. “This is where the government’s program that aims to strengthen the safety of women during their pilgrimage to Compostela gains #relevance,” he said.
In this regard, the subdelegate described as “fundamental” the support of the College of Pharmacists, health centers, shelters and the various security forces that collaborate in this program “because they are points that offer closeness and confidence to the citizens, in addition to being very visited by pilgrims, due to the characteristics involved in carrying out the Camino, with which this implies in the dissemination of this initiative,” she said.
During the presentation of the campaign, the subdelegate visited one of the mobile offices of attention to the pilgrim that has as main objectives to increase citizen security in places or areas of greater concentration of pilgrims, enhance personal attention by providing information on security measures and advice, attend to the victims of crimes (advising them and supporting them in the necessary procedures), and in general, provide any type of information about the Camino de Santiago or public services available.
Commitment in the struggle counts male violence
A subdelegate stressed that the Government prioritized in its mandate the fight against gender violence “committing to record budgets, prevention policies and sufficient resources for the protection of women victims and their sons and daughters.” In this regard, he said that the government invested 1.3 million euros in policies focused on this matter in Lugo since 2019. This amount was used to finance actions of the State Pact against Gender Violence, in addition to the funds of the Recovery Plan to promote the creation of a 24-hour care center for victims of sexual violence in the province.
He also recalled that in Lugo there are 637 active cases in the Viogen System (Comprehensive Monitoring of Cases of Gender Violence) of the Ministry of the Interior and that 5 municipalities of the province already cooperate with this program of monitoring and protection of victims. Rodríguez lamented that "our society continues to live with that terror" and stressed that it is urgent to eradicate male violence, "we will not stop until we achieve it."