Gender-based violence intervention services treat over 12,000 people since January

The Specialized Intervention Services (SIE) to respond to victims of gender-based violence have treated 12,112 people between January and September of this year.

The majority of victims, 10,175, have been women, while 1,480 children have been treated. The rest of the services, 457, have been for adolescents.

“The figures demonstrate a structural problem that affects us women, but also all citizens,” lamented the Minister of Equality and Feminism, Eva Menor, on Tuesday, who called for “awareness and co-responsibility” from everyone.

Menor made the comments after inaugurating the new SIE in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, the 21st such centre in Catalonia.

Of the 12,112 people attended to in the first nine months of the year, almost 4,400 were first visits.

In total, almost 38,500 individual sessions of psychological, legal and social care were offered to victims of gender-based violence so far this year, according to data made public on Tuesday.

Given the number of people treated through comprehensive services, Menor called for a collective commitment “to put an end to the serious violation of human rights that is violence against women.”

Menor assured that having 21 SIEs across Catalonia “guarantees proximity for women and prevents them from the journey that sometimes leads to their revictimization.”

The mayor of l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, David Quirós, welcomed the launch of the new centre, which he said was “a facility that has long been demanded in the city" as it "helps victims get out of their situation.”

The SIE in l'Hospitalet is located at Carrer Major 98, where it occupies a space of 230m2, distributed in small rooms that try to offer a comfortable space to victims.