The Head of the Coordination Unit against Gender Violence of the Government Delegation, Laura Segura, has highlighted the importance of the role that society plays in the fight against gender violence, on the occasion of the new campaign of the Ministry of Equality ‘Are you going to do something?’.
“The campaign focuses on society from different spaces and the importance of prevention, action, care on the part of close people, family and friends, and how we can detect situations of violence and accompany”, he explained in an interview granted to Television Melilla.
As Segura explained, “of women who suffer gender-based violence, someone always knows something.” Therefore, despite the fact that 80% of women do not report, on this occasion they appeal to the whole of society under the reality that only one in four women victims of gender violence have had social accompaniment.
Silence, accomplice of gender violence
The Head of Unit lamented that “we are not aware of how important it is that a person, at a specific time, provides help to a woman who is suffering from gender violence.” Thus, she has detailed that it is very difficult for a woman to get out of situations of gender violence alone because of the specific characteristics that “hook” the victim in these cases.
“It’s very important that people who are around know that circle of violence to know when the victim is.” In this regard, he recalled the phases of the circle of violence: accumulation of tension, explosion of aggression and repentance; “a continuous circle where the woman will be for years”.
He has therefore stressed that the victim’s close circle plays a fundamental role and that it is essential not to move away and leave her alone “despite the victim’s decisions.” “If we do not know how to recognize the signs, what we do is question and promote silence,” he said, “and silence is the greatest accomplice of gender violence.”
Reporting is critical
Laura Segura has highlighted the relevance “of the weight of society” in promoting and accompanying women who suffer violence. “We have to make it very clear that when a woman is asking for help in a situation of gender violence, we have to listen to her, accompany her and attend to her, regardless of whether or not she goes through the complaint, whether or not she goes through a judicial procedure,” he said.
In this way, he has expressed that public policies on issues of gender violence go in the direction of urging victims to denounce, a fundamental issue to be able to get out of this situation. Segura has explained that through the complaint the victim obtains accompaniment, protection and, in cases where there is a restraining order, distance from the aggressor.
“When there is a restraining order, we get that even if the victim himself is in that moment of absolute emotional dependence and needs to approach the aggressor as well, we are getting him not to do it,” he said.
In the words of the Head of Unit, “it is more successful to get rid of gender violence when there is a complaint.” Even so, she insisted that her role must go further, “we need to accompany her when they decide to get out of the situation of gender violence, with or without complaint.”
“It is essential that the Government Delegation in Melilla promote all the campaigns that the Ministry of Equality launches, be a speaker and continue disseminating them in the city, making them also reach the rest of the institutions and all citizens,” he said.