The president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has acknowledged the need for more training in gender-based violence for legal operators and has warned of the «hatred» that «spreads on social media.»
«The law against Gender Violence) gave hope to thousands of women in our country. It is a law that changed everything and did so because these women felt that they were not alone, that there was an entire country behind them willing to provide them with all the instruments of the Rule of Law, which are many, to protect them. And we did it and we do it day by day with a very powerful weapon, which is the words we inscribe in the Official State Gazette to change people’s lives. Words that materialize in specialized courts, in centers for victims of gender-based violence, words that crystallize in more training for legal operators, which is needed, right?, it is needed,» Sánchez stated at the PSOE event on the occasion of the renewal of the State Pact against Gender Violence.
In this regard, he called for «fighting» against the «hatred» that spreads on social media, spaces where he said «cannot be the wild west where machists and harassers roam freely.» «We can also say a lot and do even more to fight against this hatred that spreads on social media and tell young people that being modern, being contemporary, is not being macho, but being feminist, is to bet and believe and work for sustainability, for peace, for multilateralism,» he added.
Regarding the language used to refer to gender-based violence, Sánchez emphasized that the way it is named determines how one is willing to act. «Therefore, it is convenient to remember today the obvious, and it is quite surprising, but we must do it and we must also be very insistent on it, right? A woman does not die, a woman is murdered, right? It is not a heat of the moment, it is an aggression. And it is not a tough divorce, as the leader of the opposition said, it is gender-based violence,» he explained.
Furthermore, Sánchez indicated that «feminism is not just another appendix in a catalog of rights,» but «is a way of seeing and understanding society, life.» He also said that this must permeate transversely through all public policies.
He also warned about machismo, the «tenacious and perverse enemy.» «I read today in the media that the far-right in Spain is waging a fierce battle in municipalities with initiatives against the entire diversity community, the LGBTQI+. All of this seems dangerous to me, where we also have to be present,» he emphasized.
Similarly, the President of the Government celebrated that «an immense majority of society» understands violence against women as «a matter of State.» «This is a matter of State, this is an issue that concerns and challenges all of us,» he said, adding that «there can be no real democracy as long as there are women who are not free and do not feel equal.»
The Congress Plenary approved on Wednesday the report to renew the State Pact against Gender Violence, which the groups approved in committee on February 17, with the only vote against from Vox. Thus, Sánchez praised the negotiation, the agreement, and the resolution of injustices or things that do not work.
Finally, Sánchez called for translating the State Pact into legislative amendments to adapt them to the text. «So that, ultimately, as I said before, we continue to combat this infamy (gender-based violence) and can eradicate it,» he concluded.
At the socialist event, the First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero; the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo; and the Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, also spoke.
The First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, stated that the issue that «worries» and «concerns» her the most is economic violence. «That difficulty that women have in being safe, in having self-esteem, and ultimately in having resources that allow them to stand on their own and make it possible not to depend on anyone and for their children, their daughters, to also be in a suitable environment,» she explained.
Montero also highlighted political initiatives that affect women and that the Government has developed throughout the legislature. She mentioned labor reform, the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Salary, and the Parity Law.
On the other hand, the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, pointed out that the department she leads is working to make the Pact «a reality,» with «a clear roadmap.» «And I believe we are moving in the right direction, we are on track to develop those rules that we have to implement, those 1.5 billion euros that are essential to provide new resources and new mechanisms,» she said.
Redondo also urged to «remove» Vox from institutions, from Parliament, from the Congress of Deputies. «That is what we have to demand at all levels. We must end with the far-right, and we can do it, and we have shown that we can do it, we know how to do it, we can come to an agreement,» she emphasized.
Similarly, the Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, denounced that the Community of Madrid is the only one without an equality law. «Madrid, which should be the most advanced, the most cutting-edge,» he emphasized. In this regard, López announced that the parliamentary group in the Madrid Assembly plans to submit an initiative to update the law against gender-based violence to include the measures included in the State Pact against Gender Violence.
The Minister also referred to the «risks» of digital transformation and warned about child pornography. «This country is going to create a shield. Certainly, a shield to protect our digital rights, to protect our citizens’ rights,» he stated.
Finally, the Secretary of Equality of the PSOE and Government Delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, pointed out that the renewal of the State Pact is the result of work, but «above all of the history of the PSOE.» She also called for fighting «against something that is key, which is denialism.» «I come from a place where I can tell you that denialism in all its forms kills. Denialism kills. That’s how it is. And there is no other answer and there is no other option than progress and the Socialist Party,» she stated.
FUENTE