The deputy delegate of the Government in A Coruña, María Rivas, celebrated this morning the accession of the City of Ortigueira to the VioGén system, promoted by the Ministry of Interior and aimed at the monitoring and protection of women victims of gender violence, as well as their sons and daughters.
The signing of accession took place in the course of the Local Security Xunta chaired by the subdelegate in which it was also agreed to strengthen the collaboration between the Civil Guard and the Local Police to maintain the positive data of this town hall, as well as to guarantee security during the celebration of the International Festival of the Celtic World, between 9 and 13 July, in an edition marked by the 50th anniversary of the School of Gaitas of Ortigueira.
The deputy delegate of the Government of Spain stressed the importance of municipalities being part of the VioGén system of protection for victims “due to the proximity of the local police to the neighborhood and their greater knowledge of the local reality, which substantially improves the performance in the protection of women victims of gender violence.”
In these terrible days, after the machista murder in A Coruña, the Government’s deputy delegate stressed that “we have to make every effort to put all the tools at the disposal of this daily struggle that falls to all the institutions.” In this regard, he called for all the municipalities that have Local Police in the province, which currently number 60, and which have not yet joined the system, to join the 29 municipalities that are already within the VioGén program.
The province of A Coruña currently has 2,810 active cases of gender violence within the VioGén system. “Behind every case of violence there is a woman who is a priority for the government and all the effort is little to guarantee her safety,” Rivas insisted.
The Xunta Local de Seguridad also analyzed the latest data referring to the city council that shows a crime rate of 24 crimes per thousand inhabitants, more than 10 points below the provincial and Galician average, which makes it consolidated as a safe city council, ratified also with the good road safety data. “Galicia is the third safest community in the State and Ortigueira with its good data contributes whatever it is, and we will continue working to not only maintain but improve this good data,” said the subdelegate.
School Coexistence Master Plan
A Subdelegada stressed the importance of working on training and awareness on gender violence among youth and for this reason highlighted the importance of the School Coexistence Master Plan that in the 2023/2024 academic year had the participation of the two educational centers of Ortigueira in a total of 18 activities with topics such as cybersecurity, drug and alcohol risks, gender violence, addictions such as gambling or video games, hate crimes and discrimination and the prevention of sexual crimes. In total, 571 people from all over the educational community participated in the activities of the Master Plan carried out by the Civil Guard in Ortigueira.
International Festival of the Celtic World
A deputy delegate, the deputy mayor of Ortigueira, Ana Matilde Cartelle, representatives of the Local Police and the Civil Guard, the head of the Traffic Detachment of Ferrol and a representation of Renfe, who will reinforce their service, also analyzed in the Xunta Local de Seguridad the special device that will be developed on the occasion of the International Festival of the Celtic World, which will bring to the town ortegana thousands of visitors.
“This Festival is a tourist reference of first magnitude and every year attracts thousands of people to the Ortigueira ready to enjoy Celtic music. In an edition like this year’s, which also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the School of Gaitas, with the expectation of greater attendance, joint work is essential to guarantee security,” said Rivas.
The event will have a device that will include the Civil Guard, the Civil Traffic Guard, the National Seconded Police, members of the GES to attend emergencies and Civil Protection. To this will be added the private security company of the festival and the troops of the Local Police of Ortigueira. Security measures in terms of its own personnel and private security will also be strengthened and work is also being done with the city council to improve the service for the Ortigueira festival.