The People’s Party (PP) calls on socialists to «rectify,» «be humble,» and «acknowledge that they have made a mistake.»
The PSOE and its partners criticized on Tuesday in the Congress of Deputies the PP’s bill to prevent specialized courts for gender-based violence from handling cases of sexual offenses when there is no marital or similar relationship between the aggressor and the victim.
In this regard, they criticized the ‘popular’ party for being late with the initiative, which socialists have dubbed «ridiculous.» This was made clear during the consideration of the initiative in the Lower House.
In defense of the initiative, PP deputy Patricia Rodríguez criticized the government’s «new botch» to make the Courts for Violence against Women handle sexual offenses. In this sense, she urged the socialists to «rectify,» to «be humble,» and to «acknowledge that they have made a mistake.»
«Once again, they have legislated against the protection of women. Vote in favor of considering this bill, which only aims to protect victims and not leave them in a situation of defenselessness and mistrust of our justice system,» said Rodríguez, who compared the Law on Judicial Efficiency with the «disastrous» yes means yes law.
Rodríguez also referred to the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, reproaching her for attending the two demonstrations called in Madrid on March 8 for International Women’s Day. «What can we expect from a Minister of Equality who is a trans activist in the morning on March 8 and in the afternoon wants to take up the banner against women? In the morning, she walks with regulationists, and in the afternoon, she is an abolitionist of prostitution while remaining silent on cases of prostitution consumption,» she emphasized.
PSOE DEFENDS THAT THE SOLUTION IS TO PROVIDE MORE RESOURCES
During the speakers’ turn, socialist Alicia Álvarez criticized the proposal of the ‘popular’ party, calling it «ridiculous.» In this line, she stated that the solution is not to «remove competencies» from one court to give them to another but to provide more resources. «What is needed are more resources, not excuses like the ones you bring here today to bargain with women,» she affirmed.
She also indicated that the PP’s initiative «renounces» having better justice, as well as more specialized and close attention. «They justify it with a lack of resources, and that should never be an obstacle to making decisions. As I said, they are late because what they propose is already being worked on by President Sánchez’s government,» she emphasized.
Likewise, from Sumar, Esther Gil de Reboleño, stated that the proposal from the ‘popular’ party comes «late, poorly, and with an obvious attempt to gain partisan advantage.» In this sense, she pointed out that to ensure «quick» and «effective» responses to victims reporting gender-based violence, «investment and commitment» are needed.
«Ladies and gentlemen of the Socialist Party, I ask that we do not wait another week for all the positions that need to be filled to be filled, that all the resources that need to be allocated and all the information that needs to be imparted be imparted and put into action immediately because women do not want empty speeches or to be used as a partisan bargaining chip. We want real justice, we want a future, and we want it now. We want actions, not words,» she stressed.
Meanwhile, Vox’s deputy Rocío Aguirre said that the «coalition of socialists and communists» does not «care» about women. «They only care about their ideology: dividing society, distributing money among their affiliates, and buying votes to stay in power, which is all that matters to them, staying in power,» she emphasized. Additionally, she added that women in need of protection do not report because «there is an immense tangle of bureaucracy and various bar-shacks that really do not help any woman.»
From Podemos, Noemí Santana stated that the initiative of the ‘popular’ party is «a setback in the fight against violence against women, particularly sexual violence.» She also acknowledged that the number of courts for gender-based violence is «considerably lower» than ordinary investigating courts, «which obviously could overload the judicial system.» However, she added that for Podemos, specialization in gender-based violence is «key.»
Josep Pagès, from Junts, shared «to a large extent» the «concern» about the deficit of specialized courts, as well as the increase in workload resulting from the broadening of the concept of violence against women to include sexual offenses. He also called for taking into account the assessments that reflect the majority sentiment of the judicial world, rather than «ideological pleas,» which «are sometimes disconnected from reality and more from the day-to-day reality of the courts.»
From the PNV, deputy Mikel Legarda announced that his party will support the PP’s initiative in its consideration. However, he warned that this is out of «respect» for justice professionals who «have contributed significantly to the fight against violence against women, domestic violence, and ultimately gender-based violence.»
On the other hand, Isabel Pozueta from EH Bildu stated that the PP’s bill is «in many ways acceptable.» «But it’s the world upside down because it comes from a PP proposal that makes deals with deniers,» she asserted regarding the PP’s pact with Vox in Valencia. However, she urged the government to speed up the creation of specialized positions.
Finally, Néstor Rego from the BNG emphasized in his intervention that achieving the specialization of judicial bodies is a «fundamental measure» in the fight against gender-based violence, as well as improving victim support.
According to the text of the initiative, accessed by Europa Press, the PP proposes to modify the Organic Law of the Judiciary to eliminate the section recently introduced by the Law on Judicial Efficiency. This law extends the powers of the specialized Courts for Violence against Women to also include offenses against sexual freedom, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, sexual harassment, and trafficking for sexual exploitation, even when there is no relationship between the victim and the aggressor.
In this sense, the ‘popular’ party warns in the explanatory memorandum that the expansion of criminal types subject to investigation and prosecution by the specialized Courts for Gender Violence to other forms of violence against women could have an «impact on the real lack of protection of victims of gender-based violence» as these bodies will be «overwhelmed» and «delay the sentences.»
FUENTE