The Government of Catalonia will guarantee free university studies in public centers for victims of sexist violence outside the scope of the couple. Until now, the possibility was already offered to victims within the couple, but from next year the assumptions will be expanded. Victims must prove that they are victims through a specific procedure and it will be applied in the seven public universities, in addition to the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), whose studies are done at a distance. Official degrees and master’s degrees for victims of sexual violence, forced marriages, female genital mutilation or trafficking in women will also be free.
The Minister of Research and University, Joaquim Nadal, and the Minister of Equality and Feminism, Tània Verge, will announce the measure that will now be published in the DOGC. You can ask for help from August 1st until the end of October 31st.
“You are not alone, we accompany you to get out of this situation and to have lives free of violence,” emphasized Verge, who recalled that exemptions were already incorporated 15 years ago and now assumptions are being expanded to recognize victims of many more cases. “We are covering a very wide range of sexist violence,” said the minister. Verge wanted to highlight that in the face of “structural” violence, the public authorities respond to society by sending a message to women that they are not “alone”.
In addition, the minister recalled that the accompaniment and continuity in the studies is “capital”, because it allows them to expand their networks and facilitates recovery. “It is an important step, it is a pioneering policy and we send a message to all of society,” she said. The minister has recognized that until now there was a “comparative grievance” because violence within the couple was recognized, a grievance that is now “corrected” by expanding the right to reparation.
Minister Verge herself explained that as director of the Equality unit at UPF, in the past she had come across cases that could request exemption from tuition and many others that did not have this recognition.
And how can it be proven? Minister Nadal explained that the mechanism for making the request will involve several steps. Firstly, it will be necessary to request a certificate from the Women’s Information and Care Services (SIAD) or the Specialized Intervention Services (SIE) and, secondly, present this certificate to the Agency for the Management of University Aid and Research (AGAUR). It will be this body that will issue an accreditation, which the interested person must present at the university in which they wish to enroll or have already enrolled.
The universities will have to guarantee this right and the one who will cover the cost of the studies and compensate the centers will be the Department of Research and Universities, in collaboration with the Department of Equality and Feminisms. The aid may be requested before formalizing the registration or once formalized if at the time of having to do so the documentation is not yet available.
