SPAIN: THOUSANDS MARCH TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (VIDEO)

Sat 26 November 2022:

As part of marches to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, thousands of people flocked to the streets of Madrid and Barcelona.

On Friday evening in Madrid’s city center, protesters carried banners and marched down the Gran Via while yelling “no means no, anything else is rape” and “no is no, anything else is rape”, and “we women are not goods”. People burned flares and beat drums in Barcelona.

According to the Ministry of Equality, 1,171 women have died as a result of gender violence in Spain since 2003, when statistics began to count fatalities. So far in 2022, 38 have died.

“I’ve come here because of the problem of gender violence, because of all the deaths that are occurring, the mistreatment of women…” said teacher and Madrid resident Susana Rita, 42.

Chants of “only yes means yes” rang through the crowds on Friday evening.

The demonstrations follow the news that some men’s prison terms were lowered due to a flaw in a new law limiting the consequences for sexual abuse, which sparked outrage and acrimonious debate among legislators.

Any non-consensual intercourse is considered rape under the “only yes means yes” statute, which also establishes lighter minimum punishments for some sexual offenses.

According to the news agency Europa Press, five individuals have been released from prison and at least 11 convicted sexual offenders have had their prison terms shortened.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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