The former Secretary of State for Equality Ángela Rodríguez must compensate the ex-husband of the former president of Infancia Libre, María Sevilla, with 10,500 euros for calling him an “abuser” in a television debate. The sentence handed down by a court in Estepona has ruled that Rodríguez’s words constitute a crime against honor.
In May 2022, the former number two of the Ministry of Equality participated in a debate on the program La Noche on the RTVE channel 24 Horas, about the “only yes means yes” law. At one point, Rodríguez stated that Rafael M. was “an abuser” and that “abusers are not good parents.” These accusations referred to the pardon of María Sevilla after being convicted of abducting her youngest son and preventing her from seeing her father for six months.
In the debate, Rodríguez declared that “children who live with their parents and sexually assault them cannot have visitation and it is prohibited by law,” referring to the children’s law. These initial statements were spread through social networks such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
For its part, the ruling recalls that, although he had been denounced on multiple occasions, the plaintiff had not been convicted of violent acts. Nor were there any proceedings pending against him. All the complaints against him had been filed in the investigation phase due to lack of evidence, without even reaching trial.
Through social networks, former Minister of Equality Irene Montero has shown her support for her partner through a tweet where she supports Rodríguez’s speech about vicarious violence and defending “protective” mothers. “We are contingo,” says the policy at the end of the text.
Likewise, the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has declared through platform X that “the criminalization of those who have protected protective mothers from institutions is intolerable.”
The Podemos spokesperson, Isabel Serra, has also spoken out, who like her colleagues, has shown her support for Rodríguez, assuring her that “you are not alone.”
