The Andalusian Ombudsman, Jesús Maeztu, has opened an ex officio complaint with the aim of promoting the development of protocols that protect women from possible threats and assaults of a sexual nature in nightlife venues.
To this end, the Ombudsman has asked the Ministry of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality and the Andalusian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FAMP) about the plans given the knowledge of only one protocol in this type of case, that of the City Council of Granada, as recorded by the institution in a press release.
“These protocols can prevent violence or sexist attitudes suffered by women in these places. The famous punctures for chemical submission, discrimination against women, attacks on the right to be calm and enjoy their leisure, violate the fundamental right to freedom, to physical and moral integrity, to equality, to the dignity of the person and even in the most extreme cases the right to life”, has expressed the Andalusian Ombudsman.
For Jesús Maeztu, “it is very important to have prevention and a quick reaction when attacks occur in discos, nightclubs, bars or music festivals, in the face of sexist behavior that can sometimes lead to sexual assaults in the same space or already out of it”.
The Andalusian Ombudsman considers that these protocols must be available to prevent, disseminate and make this information visible in these premises and on social networks, in order to help create a safe environment for the staff of the premises and for the public. and thus deter potential aggressors.
According to the text of the complaint, in recent years the need for tools to prevent and react specifically and adequately to sexual violence has been confirmed, both by the administrations and by the nightlife business sector itself.
In Andalusia, given the alarm generated in the summer of 2022 by the increase in reports of punctures and chemical submission to girls and women at festive events, several public administrations announced that they would draw up action protocols.
The complaint states that the Junta de AndalucÃa announced in August 2022 the update of the Protocol for Action and health coordination in the event of sexual assaults in Andalusia for the year 2020, which has two assistance programs for victims of sexual assaults: the Immediate Telephone Assistance Service 24 hours against sexual violence and the Service for legal advice, legal assistance and psychological care for women victims of sexual violence and sexual abuse in Andalusia.
However, underlines the Ombudsman in his actions, these programs of the Junta de AndalucÃa do not focus on prevention, detection, reaction and attention to the affected person in leisure establishments and, in particular, at night.
For the Andalusian Ombudsman, these must offer common guidelines regarding how to act in the face of sexist attacks, which facilitate an efficient response to it and avoid all kinds of re-victimization.
Among other actions, it could be valued, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, training in the prevention of sexual assaults for all the personnel of the entertainment venues (waiters, cloakroom personnel, dj, security personnel), including issues such as awareness , basic legal concepts, operating procedures to act in the face of certain behaviors, coordination with other resources and attention to the affected person.
They can also include tools for the analysis of the design of the premises and the detection of areas that may be at risk in order to adopt measures such as improving visibility, avoiding recesses, greater presence of personnel in certain areas, among other issues.
