The Police Coordination Committee, which is convened by the Coordination Unit against Violence against Women of the Government Delegation in Melilla, has addressed the opening of the 24-hour Comprehensive Care Center for Victims of Sexual Violence.
“The City has been asked about the importance of starting a joint work and having the different agents involved in the development of the protocol, being able to make contributions and hold a meeting with the different actors so that they can make contributions and ensure coordination in the operation of the resource,” explained the Head of the Unit, Laura Segura.
The opening of the Center was communicated on April 7 to the Head of the Unit and the Protocol of Action by the Council of Presidency, Public Administration and Equality was provided to it. Therefore, it was one of the issues that was addressed in the Bureau that took place a few days ago at the headquarters of the Delegation.
“The crisis centers aim to accompany the victims of sexual violence and, in turn, aim to achieve social change and that we can reach women who suffer sexual violence, a silenced and hidden violence, which is denounced by 8%,” explained Segura.
For this reason, he pointed out that the 24-hour centres “are a wake-up call to citizens to prevent, in addition to being a space for protection and accompaniment to victims, so raising awareness and providing citizens with all the information so that this resource can be used is fundamental and priority”.
The Coordination Unit against Violence against Women of the Government Delegation in Melilla, in order to continue to channel coordination as has been done so far in the field of violence against women, has made an offer to be able to hold the meetings that are considered, with the other institutions and agents involved in the Government Delegation.
The creation of the same is carried out with the funds approved by the Government of Spain, framed in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the State Pact against Gender Violence.
The creation of 24-hour comprehensive assistance centers for victims of sexual violence in all provinces and cities with Statute of Autonomy emanates from the Organic Law of Integral Guarantee of Sexual Freedom, and entails compliance with the recommendations of the Group of Experts on the Fight against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), which recommended in its first evaluation report carried out in Spain to “take measures to establish a sufficient number of emergency assistance centers for victims of sexual violence.”
VioGen Convention
During the meeting, the importance of redoubling efforts for the prevention of violence and, especially, to ensure a diligent, adequate and effective response to all victims was raised. Therefore, aspects that are considered to be relevant in the follow-up of care and protection of women victims have been evaluated and the effective compliance of the collaboration protocol has been reviewed, which is being developed normally, and proposals for improvement have been made.
It has been reported that the Agreement between the Secretariat of State for Security of the Ministry of the Interior and the Autonomous City of Melilla for access to VioGén by specialized social services is currently being signed, and this year it will be necessary to proceed with the signing of the Agreement for the Continuity of Access to Local Police to the System of Comprehensive Monitoring of Cases of Gender Violence, which is the result of the current protocol of the Bureau.
During the meeting, a balance sheet was made of the complaints filed in 2023 based on the data obtained from the direct emptying of the information received from the sources of the State Security Forces and Bodies and the complaints in this year 2024, as well as a follow-up and review of the current active cases in VioGén.
The Unit has provided the data that reflect the statistical reports on violence against women and has provided information on the use of state services during the past 2023 and so far in 2024.
In addition, the use of state services has been analyzed, highlighting the consultations at 016, Telephone Service of Information and Legal Advice on Gender Violence, the number of users active in the Telephone Service of Attention and Protection for Victims of Gender Violence (ATENPRO), the number of women with police protection (active cases with a high level of risk), number of protection orders and measures for gender violence, total of orders initiated, adopted and denied, active cases in VioGén and distribution by levels of risk, inmates in penitentiary centers serving sentences for crimes of gender violence and temporary residence and work permits for foreign women victims of gender violence.
At this point it should be noted that the active cases in the VioGén System in Melilla as of April 8, 2023 are 223, of which none has a high risk.
Other topics covered have been the response to specific cases, risk assessments and the latest instructions, evaluation of ‘Protocol 0’, where it is concluded that more subsequent complaints and assessments of higher quality are achieved.
Emphasis has also been placed on the follow-up of cases where aggressors are persistent and resistant and the latest Instruction on Inactivation of cases has been reported, while the current update of comet devices has been reported and their applicability in the city is being evaluated.
The Unit has provided information on the proposal for training in the work being carried out on the Protocol on Prevention and Response to Violence against Women of the Humanitarian Assistance Programme.