10 may 2016

After ten years from the LO 1/2004 approval, on 28th december, about Full Protection against Gender Based Violence, Susana Gisbert Grifo and Elena Martínez García carry out an analysis in  Gender and Violence: Deep analysis on the phenomenon of gender violence after ten years of the implementation of the law. This law entails a transformation in the spanish society by removing the gender inequality culture that underlies such violence.

In 2004, this law implied a great leap forward for the spanish society that was used to decades of silence on the subject of gender violence: the widespread mistreatment faced by women was called domestic violence, focusing on the fact that it only happened at home, related to the intimacy of couples. In Spain, during the XX century, gender violence was standardized and,  in the XXI century, it suffered an enormous change.

The battered woman had the possiblility to report the physical abuse like any other citizen, but there were no specific measures to stop this gender violence. Besides, most cases were dismissed in police and judicial terms. 1/2004 law prioritizes the batterer punishment and the attendance of the victim giving few recourses to defend themselves. From restraining order to shelter homes in which they can stay to get away from the batterer house.

Crisis has proved to be the ideal excuse for dismantling the shelter houses and cutting the funds for the correct application of the law 1/2004. Susana Gisbert and Elena Martínez state in this book that “no prevention policies against such behaviour has been done, in spite of the extensive and fortunate development given by the legislature to the Law”.

The book carries out an in-depth analysis about the achievement of the law over the fist 10 years and it shows how much there is left to do to put an end to the inequality and patriarchal culture that underlies gender violence. “Forceful norms aiming to the prevention will result in a clear rejection message to citizen who is not accepting the constitutional reality and it will be easier for young people to grow up surrounded by a fair, equitable and respectful social model of women’s fundamental rights.”