The Government Delegation hosted on Friday a meeting between its holder, Sabrina Moh, and the Head of the Coordination Unit against Gender Violence, Laura Segura, with representatives of the hotel and nightlife of the city, as well as with State Security Forces and Local Police to present the ‘Violeta Point’ Instrument and propose to them the adhesion to this measure in the different premises of Melilla, through the development of protocols of action and collaboration.
“The objective is to unite efforts and that more and more places in our city, are safe spaces and free of machista violence,” said the head of the Unit, who has advanced that the Government Delegation in Melilla is working to sign different protocols of action with various areas and entities and thus extend the ‘Violeta Point’ campaign to as many points as possible in the city.
In this regard, Segura has stressed that it is essential to extend this measure to leisure spaces and hospitality. “With the aim of joining forces in the fight against gender violence and sexual violence, the Government Delegation in Melilla, through the Coordination Unit against Violence against Women, proposes protocols of collaboration and action for the promotion of violet dots and improvement of actions against male violence with representatives of nightlife and hospitality in the city of Melilla,” he said.
As she explained, the Violet Points “are a symbol, a sign for women to know that this space or person is at their disposal to listen to and accompany them, and that they know the resources of integral attention”. In addition, he has made it clear that it is also an informative resource, “a guide for the environment to obtain information on how to act.”
Collaborating agents
“The hotel and leisure establishments will be able to join the protocol voluntarily, as collaborating agents,” said Segura, who reported that the action protocol includes that the premises that join this initiative commit to the training of personnel in the prevention, detection and response to situations of violence against women.
The training that will be offered to personnel in hospitality, leisure, coffee shops, hotels, security, control… involves violence against women, how to act in specific cases of gender violence and on the resources of the State and the autonomous regions.
“The person carrying out the training activity will certify his knowledge of the protocol and basic training on the Violet Point to act in case of witnessing an aggression on women,” he has stated and pointed out that the certificate is personal and will not be associated to any specific place.
It also includes the commitment of the premises to install the distinctive violet dot, as well as the dissemination of information, awareness and accompaniment materials to possible victims in a visible place and to have reference and trained personnel in the event of violence.
Safe environments
The Delegation of the Government of Spain in Melilla will provide updated graphic material of awareness and information and will offer, to the staff, a basic training, which will be given by the person in charge of the Coordination Unit against Violence on Women in the Government Delegation in Melilla and by State Security Forces and Bodies.
“It is necessary to create spaces in which victims feel heard, cared for, understood and accompanied,” said Laura Segura, who stressed that male violence “is one of the great problems we have as a society and continues to afflict women on a daily basis. We must act in a transversal way to eradicate it, and that is why it is important to develop measures of prevention and action, but also deterrence.”
“The objective of the Government Delegation is to create safe environments for the victims of gender-based violence, whether in administrative procedures, when going to request the provision of a service, in leisure spaces and in any daily activity,” he said.
Segura recalled that the Violet Point is an instrument promoted by the Ministry of Equality to involve the whole of society in the fight against male violence and to spread, in a massive way, the information necessary to know how to act in a case of violence against women.
This tool is part of the catalogue of urgent measures of the Improvement and Modernization Plan promoted by different Ministries of the Government of Spain and represents a change of focus in public policies of care for victims, placing male violence as a structural problem that requires the involvement of the whole of society to put an end to it.