Receiving initial emotional assistance, in the shortest possible time, is key to mitigating the impact of sexist violence. Under this premise, the Minister of Equality and Feminism of the Generalitat, Tània Verge, has launched the Crisis Intervention Service (SIC) to provide emergency psychological support, and in person, to people who are going through situations complex situations caused by sexist violence.
A specialized psychologist, of the 33 that make up the professional team, will travel to any point in Catalonia – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – to emotionally assist both the woman (sons and daughters, in the event that she has ) as well as to any person in the environment (family, work, friends…).
The counselor has highlighted the importance of this first “specialized and non-revictimizing” psychological care to begin a recovery process. “We will attend to all cases, whether months or years have passed. Women ask for help or report when they can. We will not leave any woman alone,” she said.
The service can only be activated by a qualified professional from a telephone with restricted use to which the Serveis d’Intervenció Especialitzada (SIE), Serveis d’Informació i Atenció a Dones (SIAD), police forces, social services and emergencies, among others. The Ministry has explained that it has the capacity to address a total of 560 services per year and is endowed with a budget of 1.2 million euros.
Professionals will be able to activate the service in any area of ??violence, beyond that which occurs within a partner or ex-partner. Catalan law 17/2020 against the eradication of violence contemplates equally present forms of violence such as obstetric, digital, vicarious or second-order violence (that exercised against professionals).
Attempted or completed femicides, situations of sexual violence or any type of violence with a “high traumatic potential” for the victims are just some examples.
The care format can be carried out individually or in groups, taking into account the needs of each situation. Likewise, the professional may communicate with the person by telephone, in person or electronically, according to the same variables.
It is important to highlight that this is an immediate intervention and, at the same time, limited to a maximum of seven days. The objective is that the woman receives this first support and, in turn, is informed of all the territorial services that she has available to her so that her psychological support can continue.
Catalonia thus increases its assistance resources to address violence after accumulating a total of 129 femicides, since records began (2012). Specifically, sexist violence has killed a woman so far this year in Torroella de Montgrí (Girona) and two minors due to vicarious violence in Horta (Barcelona).
According to a survey on sexist violence in Catalonia (2021), 8 out of 10 women have suffered some type of violence throughout their lives and, specifically, 65% have experienced some episode of sexual violence.
