Sindicatos aragoneses exigen "tolerancia cero" ante la violencia de género

ZARAGOZA, 24 Nov. - CCOO and UGT Aragón held a protest this Friday in front of the Constitution monument in Zaragoza to demand "zero tolerance" against gender-based violence and criticize the "alarming" increase in victims.

From 2003 to November 2023, a total of 1,236 women have been murdered by men in Spain, which means one death every six days.

Both unions have demanded an increase in resources and policies aimed at preventing and assisting victims of gender-based violence. Artists Magola Arias and Gisela Vargas from the association "Women Leaving a Mark" performed an emotional act to condemn abusers and bring visibility to victims of gender-based violence.

This Saturday, November 25, the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women" is commemorated, a social scourge that is far from being eradicated, as the number of victims increases every year. In 2023, 51 women have been murdered by their partners or ex-partners in Spain - one of them in Villanueva de Gállego (Zaragoza) - and one child has also lost their life at the hands of their father, leaving 51 children orphaned.

According to the quarterly report of the Observatory against Domestic and Gender Violence, between April and June 2023, a total of 47,063 women became victims of gender-based violence, a 5.66% increase compared to the same period in 2022, when 44,543 lost their lives.

Both unions in Aragón strongly criticized the "denialist" message of political parties and sectors of the "far right", which "deliberately undermine the scheduled events for November 25 and aim to downplay gender-based violence and suppress the resources allocated to combat it."

The Secretary of Equality of CCOO Aragón, Sonia García, stated that "we are witnessing a reactionary wave, in which patriarchy is arming itself and receiving coverage from institutions in order to strip women of their rights."

On the other hand, the responsible for the Women's area of UGT Aragón, Elena Espinosa, has called on institutions to provide all the means at their disposal and not turn a blind eye to the messages of "trivialization" of gender-based violence and the "denialist" and "anti-feminist" speeches because they "cause a lot of harm" to the work that is being done and, more importantly, "there is a lot of suffering behind it."

The study on "Sexual Violence against Women in Aragón," conducted by the Aragonese Institute for Women and the University of Zaragoza in 2019, stated that 5.7% of women have experienced sexual harassment at work or in educational centers.

Elena Espinosa demanded in the workplace that companies adhere to the protocols outlined in the equality, sexual harassment, and harassment based on gender plans, types of violence that can occur in the workplace and that help detect and prevent these cases. "It is important for companies to fulfill these commitments in order to eradicate this type of behavior in the workplace," she stated.

"We need more tools to understand what is happening in the workplace and put a stop to this harassment," says Sonia, who also mentioned that the survey conducted by CCOO in Aragonese companies found that 60% of surveyed workers did not know if there was a sexual harassment protocol in their company, and 75% considered the protection system to address these abuses as improvable."

In light of this reality, CCOO and UGT Aragón demand that workplaces be safe spaces and that the autonomy of women survivors of gender-based violence be promoted. To achieve this, both unions advocate for the extension of labor rights to protect victims, such as geographical and functional mobility or work suspension, all in accordance with Law 1/2004 and as contemplated in Organic Law 10/2022 on Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom.

In 2022, 1,048 women accessed subsidized contracts for victims of gender-based violence in Spain, according to data from the Government Delegation. In 2021, the number of women accessing these types of contracts was 944, a figure that CCOO and UGT consider still low, which is why they call for the reinforcement and review of active employment policies aimed at victims of gender-based violence.

To combat this social scourge, CCOO and UGT demand reinforcement of comprehensive equality education at all levels, with the aim of identifying and neutralizing these types of violence, as well as eradicating gender stereotypes from childhood.