The Network of Women’s Centers of the Valencian Community, managed by the Second Vice Presidency and Department of Social Services, Equality and Housing, has assisted 8,634 women and provided 41,050 services during 2023, according to the data reflected in the activity report of network.
The balance represents an increase in victims treated of more than 10% compared to 2022, when there were a total of 7,791 women due to problems of physical and/or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, trafficking in women, mutilation genital and forced marriage. There are almost a thousand more women in total, a total of 843 women.
Of them, 3,901 were attended for the first time, 3,697 were previous cases and 1,036 were resumed cases. Of all of them, 69.8% filed a complaint. The previous year there were fewer cases of women treated for the first time, 3,526, of which 3,436 were women following up on files opened in previous years and 829, also fewer, were cases resumed.
Likewise, of the 41,050 services carried out in the last year, 21,589 have been in person, 5,634 were through the itinerant service of the Rural Women Centers, 13,666 by telephone and 161 by videoconference.
The balance presented by the Generalitat Valenciana shows that the most frequent problem in 2023 has been physical and psychological abuse, with a total of 2,799 cases, 42 of them being minors. The complaints filed, out of the total cases handled for this form of violence, have been 2,164, which represents 77.31%.
The second most addressed problem has been psychological abuse, with a total of 828 women, 17 of them being minors. In relation to complaints about this problem, a total of 484 (58.5%) have been formalized. Regarding situations related to sexual violence, 253 women have been treated for sexual assault, of which 36 of them are minors. Women victims of this violence have reported it on 161 occasions, 63.6% of the total. 28 women were treated for sexual harassment, 8 for sexual exploitation, 3 women for being victims of trafficking and 3 more for forced marriage.
The regional secretary of Equality and Diversity, Asunción Quinzá, who directs coordination of the Consell’s policies against gender violence, points out that the Network of Women’s Centers is “a priority and specialized resource for caring for victims and fighting against violence against women and their sons and daughters.” In this sense, he has advanced that the Department of Equality will reinforce and promote the Women’s Centers, “to create more human spaces where victims are cared for in a welcoming place. and humanized where prevention, training and education activities can be developed”.
The Network has centers in València, Alicante, Castelló de la Plana, Dénia and Torrevieja, and itinerant services in Elda, Yátova, Segorbe, Sant Mateu and Xàtiva, which offer information, prevention and psychosocial care for gender violence and for promotion of women’s equality in these areas
A new 14-hour Women’s Center in Elx is expected to come into operation shortly to provide comprehensive care to women who suffer from gender and sexist violence.
