Violence against women and rape in Spain? Is there Government data on this?

 Violence against women is a significant issue in Spain, and the government has taken steps to address it. In 2004, the government passed a comprehensive protection measures law to address gender-based violence (GBV) across the country

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. One in two women in Spain report that they have experienced violence

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Government data on violence against women and rape

The Spanish government collects administrative data as part of essential services support to survivors or during interactions with an alleged or convicted perpetrator by authorities. This data is collected by different types of service providers, such as the police, prosecutors, courts, social welfare agencies, social services providers, women’s shelters, violence hotlines, the health sector, and the Government Delegation against GBV

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.The Macro-survey on Violence against Women is the most relevant statistical operation carried out in Spain on this type of violence

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. The report provides data on the prevalence of intimate partner violence, which is estimated to be 43% for emotional abuse, 8% for physical abuse, and 12% for sexual abuse

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Rape statistics

According to a report by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE), nearly half of all sexual assault convicts and over half of rape convicts in 2021 were foreigners

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. In 2020, there were 428 sexual assault convictions, with Spaniards responsible for 238 cases and foreign nationals 190

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.Recorded crimes against sexual freedom increased by 13% in Spain in 2022 compared to 2021, and the rate of penetrative sexual assaults rose to 33.9% 

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Government response

The Spanish government has taken steps to combat gender-based violence, including the establishment of an epidemiological surveillance system to document women’s health problems, the creation of the Commission Against Gender-based Violence to coordinate programs, and National Health Service actions to implement specific commitments made in Spain’s law on gender-based violence, including training for health professionals

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.The Spanish government has also promised increased police protection for victims of domestic violence after at least nine women in Spain were killed by their current or former partners in December 2022, making it the deadliest month of the year

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Crime statistics

Spain reached its lowest crime rate in recent history in 2021, with 1,960,113 criminal offenses recorded, representing a decrease of 10.9% compared to 2019

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.In conclusion, violence against women and rape are significant issues in Spain, and the government has taken steps to address them. The Spanish government collects administrative data on violence against women, and there are reports available on the prevalence of intimate partner violence. Rape statistics show that nearly half of all sexual assault convicts and over half of rape convicts in 2021 were foreigners. The Spanish government has taken steps to combat gender-based violence, and the crime rate in Spain reached its lowest in recent history in 2021.

Citations:

[1] https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/take-five/2023/07/take-five-how-spain-is-using-administrative-data-to-help-end-violence-against-women-and-girls

[2] https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/spain-state-agency-accused-of-concealing-rape-data/

[3] https://violenciagenero.igualdad.gob.es/violenciaEnCifras/macroencuesta2015/pdf/RE__Macroencuesta2019__EN.pdf

[4] https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Spain/United-States/Crime

[5] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/spains-government-under-pressure-to-do-more-to-combat-gender-based-crime

[6] https://inspain.news/number-of-rapes-in-spain-increased-by-more-than-53-percent-since-2019/

[7] https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/333033/Eurohealth-18-2-13-15-eng.pdf

[8] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1211909/number-of-detained-by-type-of-sexual-offence-and-gender-spain/

[9] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1204074/victims-of-domestic-abuse-in-spain/

[10] https://estadisticasdecriminalidad.ses.mir.es/publico/portalestadistico/en/

[11] https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/SR/Femicide/2020/States/submission-spain.pdf

[12] https://rmx.news/article/foreigners-account-for-46-of-all-sexual-assault-convictions-in-spain/

[13] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-vows-more-vigilance-protection-murders-women-spike-december-2022-12-29/

[14] https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/rape-statistics-by-country/

[15] https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/spain-action-against-violence-against-women-and-domestic-violence

[16] https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/gobierno/news/Paginas/2022/20220221_crime-balance.aspx