The subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Abel Losada, inaugurated this morning in the office of the Provincial Directorate of the Public Service of State Employment (SEPE) in Vigo the first violet point of the province. This initiative, to which the 17 offices that the SEPE has distributed throughout the province will adhere, will serve to offer safe places to women victims of male aggression.
Abel Losada valued the importance of this initiative, which reinforces “the change of focus in public policies of attention to victims promoted by the Government of Pedro Sánchez and which aims to effectively involve all Public Administrations, and the whole society, in the fight against gender violence.” In this regard, the subdelegate stressed that from today the SEPE offices in the province will be a “safe and supportive place” for all women who suffer any expression of gender violence. The first violet dot in the SEPE offices was installed at the entrance of the Provincial Directorate and at the door of the office of the director, Teresa Rama. The event was also attended by Josefa Gómez, Deputy Director of Economic Management and César González, Deputy Director of Benefits, in addition to the General Secretary of the Government Subdelegation, María Isabel Alonso.
Losada stressed that currently about 1,450 women in Pontevedra are in the protection and monitoring system against gender violence of the Ministry of the Interior. Figures that require, he said, “a firm commitment by all administrations, and by society as a whole, to deal with them”, and that are related, with others such as the wage gap or economic exclusion, which are often risk factors that contribute to increasing the vulnerability of victims.
It did so on a day when the employment data of the province are released, which records a year-on-year reduction of 5,555 people in registered unemployment. A fall above the Galician and state average and correlated with social security affiliation data, which reaches 370,000 affiliated people, which means 6,300 more people than in the same period of 2023. The deputy delegate was optimistic, but did not want to forget the “50,440 people who continue to be unemployed in our province, more than half of whom - 58% - are women”. The subdelegate claimed the importance of decent employment and the fight against the wage gap as useful tools to combat gender violence and inequality.
Losada explained that the creation of these Violeta Points in the offices of the SEPE is a success because the employment offices are a good place to bring women who may be in a vulnerable situation closer to information they need about the resources of the State and available support. This respect is provided by some informative guides. In addition, there will be training for the directors and directors of the offices, so that they become reference experts to come to a case of violence.
Each of the points placed in the offices of the province will be identified as such and will have a QR code that will be linked to the Violet Point Guide, with information on how to act in cases of aggression, resources for victims and information of interest to know how to identify machista attitudes and put a stop to them. These resources are part of the catalogue of urgent measures promoted by different ministries in the context of male alarm in recent months.
With the implementation of this initiative, the Government Subdelegation begins the events on the occasion of the 8M, which will continue with other actions, such as the display of a banner on the façade of the Subdelegation in Pontevedra, as well as a training day to act in situations of violence against foreign women and the reading of the institutional declaration on the occasion of the International Women's Day on Friday, 8.