Crowds of people took to the streets of Madrid and Barcelona and took part in marches for the World Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
In its capital Spainmany purple-clad protesters marched through Gran Via in the center of the city, holding banners and chanting slogans such as “no is no, anything else is rape” and “we women are not products”. In Barcelona, demonstrators beat drums and set off flares.
Since 2003, when the statistics office began officially counting losses, 1,171 women have died as a result of gender-based violence in Spain, according to the Equality Ministry. So far in 2022, 38 women have lost their lives.
“I came here because of the problem of gender-based violence, because of all these deaths that are caused, the mistreatment of women (…)”said 42-year-old teacher and Madrid resident Susana Rita.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on men to step forward to end gender-based violence.
“Violence by men is a tragic reality that shames us every day”write down.
The protests come after it emerged that some men’s prison terms had been reduced because of a loophole in a new law setting out penalties for sexual abuse, sparking global outrage and a sharp row between politicians.
The law, known as the “yes means yes” law, classifies any non-consensual sexual intercourse as rape, but also sets lighter minimum sentences for certain sex crimes.
At least 11 people convicted of sexual abuse have had their prison sentences reduced and five men have been released from prison, according to the Europa Press news agency.
“Only yes means yes”shouted last night the crowds who participated in the marches with the claim to stop violence against women.
Source: News Beast
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