Document - Spain: More than words. Making protection and justice a reality for women who suffer gender based violence in the home

Spain
More than words

Making protection and justice a reality for women who suffer gender-based violence in the home

Introduction
Teresa(1), aged 59, now separated from her husband after 38 years of insults, beatings and enforced sex, is convinced that filing charges against him would worsen her situation, and that if he wanted to kill her he could, because she does not trust the public authorities to protect her. When she was interviewed by Amnesty International, she had been hiding in her house for nine months, with the blinds lowered to make her husband think she had left town. Not even the lawyer handling her separation managed to convince her to denounce the violence and go to the authorities for help in dealing with the very dangerous situation she faced. Since she has no expectations that the authorities will provide her with effective protection, she remains in hiding, determined to pursue her precarious strategy and imprisoned by the fear that her husband will carry out his death threats. Teresa’s story is far from rare. Lack of confidence in the authorities is a constant theme in the testimonies of survivors of gender-based violence in the home in Spain.

A survey carried out in March 2004 by the Centre for Sociological Research (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas - CIS), under the auspices of the Ministry for the Presidency, included the question: "How much confidence do you think women who report ill-treatment by their partner might have in the authorities (police stations, courts, etc.)? A lot, quite a lot, little or none." Almost 60 per cent of the respondents said "little" or "none".(2)

The reality underlying such perceptions is the motivation for this report. In recent years, in the wake of successive announcements of measures to curb domestic violence, many women have sought protection and justice from the authorities. In their dealings with public institutions, they have often been left extremely frustrated after coming up against barriers and discouraging responses, including the traditional types of messages used to stop them doing anything. For many women in Spain, the absence of rights has not been confined to the abuse to which they have been subjected within the family and in their closest relationships. This experience, while devastating in itself, has traditionally been compounded by the lack of protection and the discriminatory and inappropriate treatment which they have received from law enforcement officials and other officials responsible for helping them when they do report the abuse and ask for help.

In December 2004, after a long campaign by women’s organizations in Spain calling for a law to address gender-based violence in a comprehensive way, the Ley Orgánica de Medidas de Protección Integral contra la Violencia de Género (Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence)(3) was passed. Amnesty International has welcomed this initiative by the Spanish Government to improve protection of women’s rights under the law. However, the organization believes that it will be a greater challenge to make those rights a reality because that means removing all the obstacles that in practice may continue to undermine the effectiveness and usefulness of the legislation.

At this time, which will be decisive in ensuring that the new law is properly and effectively implemented, Amnesty International wishes to contribute this report to the process so that human rights protection for women can be enhanced. The organization’s work has always focused on defending specific individuals and it is therefore their experiences that motivate our actions. By bringing their voices and stories to the attention of the public, we are calling for what is happening to them in reality not to be overlooked during the decision-making process.

In this report, Amnesty International examines the extent to which the Spanish State complies with its duty to protect women’s human rights and, in particular, the authorities’ obligation to exercise due diligence with regard to gender-based violence in the home. Although the organization recognizes the progress made as a result of the recent new legislation, it remains concerned about the existence of approaches, prejudice, mechanisms and discriminatory practices that may continue to have a bearing on the work of civil servants and officials to the detriment of women’s human rights.

In basing research for the report on specific cases, the aim was to track the journey or path that survivors of gender-based violence in Spain have to take in order to be safe and escape from the abuse inflicted on them by their partners or former partners. Given the nature of the abuse suffered, many of the women whose cases are included in this report have asked for their real names not to be used and this has been respected. As far as the conduct of the authorities is concerned, the survivors’ stories reveal a worrying picture of discriminatory treatment, action and failings amounting to a secondary form of victimization that is just as abusive in that it inflicts additional suffering and exposes them to further ill-treatment and serious risk, including death.

According to official figures, since 2001 there has been a continuous increase in the number of women killed at the hands of their partners or former partners as a result of gender-based violence.(4) In the first 48 days of 2005, there have already been ten deaths, suggesting that there has been no turnaround in the trend. Of the women murdered in the last few years, it is officially recognized that several had reported the violence to which they were being subjected by their partner or former partner to the authorities. Some of them had even been afforded some form of legal protection.

According to the testimonies of the survivors of gender-based violence in the home with whom we spoke, many of those who decided to report the violence were treated with callousness and indifference by the authorities or were accused of lying or inventing or exaggerating their stories. Amnesty International received testimonies from women who, without legal representation or even in the presence of their legal representatives, were subjected to discriminatory, insensitive and indiscreet questioning which discouraged them from continuing. The risks and devastating effects of the abuse were not taken into account by those who had it within their power to protect and help the survivors, investigate and prosecute the offences in question, punish the person responsible and determine the level of reparation. The testimonies of the survivors interviewed by Amnesty International frequently refer to actions, and even court rulings, that were motivated by prejudice.

The concepts and approaches used by most civil servants and officials in their work and the services they provide have been influenced by ideas based on gender stereotypes and views that shift responsibility for their situation to the women themselves. Women are also excluded from accessing such services through the use of criteria that discriminate against them because of their administrative status, race or place of origin or the fact they suffer from mental or physical disabilities or have other health problems, among others.

In addition to the fact that the availability of services to help survivors of gender-based violence in the home is very patchy across the country, survivors face other burdens and requirements. Essential services such as shelters are provided according to a predefined user profile that makes it difficult for significant groups of survivors to access them. Furthermore, there have been complaints from organizations and from the users themselves that residents are subjected to regulations and disciplinary action.

In Spain, such resources have been provided as a social service and it has been forgotten that they stem from the State’s obligation to guarantee all survivors of human rights abuses an effective remedy to enable them to fully recover from the harm suffered and to be protected from further abuse.

In general, the design and management of services has not been undertaken within a human rights framework. Understanding violence against women in the home primarily as a violation of human rights founded on discrimination is only just beginning to take root as a result of the arguments put forward by certain groups in the course of approving the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence. In 2004 the very attempt to define and establish the scope of a law for protecting women’s rights resulted in interventions and statements from senior members of the judiciary, including a report from the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (General Council of the Judiciary), claiming that passing a law to exclusively protect women would be unconstitutional. The depth of ignorance that there is about the fact that the Spanish State has an obligation to eliminate discrimination against women, which means adopting all necessary legal or other measures to tackle the known risks women face as a result of their gender, has been extremely revealing and disturbing.

Since 2001, in its concern for the human rights of women in Spain, Amnesty International has closely followed developments in public policy and legislation concerning violence against women in the home. In this regard, the organization has issued a number of reports, participated in debates and mobilized public opinion to demand that legislation and administrative practices comply with international human rights standards and the commitments entered into by the Spanish State.

This report has sought to update the organization’s concerns in this regard, by taking account of the views of women’s organizations and information supplied by them, gathering information and statements from civil servants and officials and using the testimonies and voices of those who rarely attend the debates: women who have suffered abuse from their partners and former partners. The research was carried out during 2004 and includes the cases of women who are still at risk and/or who describe incidents in their contact with civil servants or officials that have occurred over the past four years. We have also included the cases of women who were murdered during this period, which we have sourced from documents and witness accounts. We have sought to compile information from five different autonomous communities in order to highlight the common obstacles and challenges that exist, as well as those that are specific to a particular area.(5)

Amnesty International wishes to express its thanks to all the individuals and institutions who agreed to our requests for interviews and information. Our gratitude and recognition also go to all the women’s organizations that have supported us and spearheaded the defence of survivors of gender-based violence in Spain for all these years. In particular, we have immense respect for the women who told us their stories and whose strength of will in defying the abuse and violence is a remarkable testimony to their dignity. The time has come for the Spanish State to remove all the obstacles faced by them and guarantee protection and justice for all women.

1. A challenging reality

Durango: "A woman was murdered by her partner on Saturday night in the town of Durango, Vizcaya. She was allegedly stabbed fatally in the stomach by her partner, whose whereabouts is unknown, according to the Basque Government’s Department of the Interior. The woman, aged 32 and born in Guatemala, was seriously injured and went to a nearby bar to seek help but died a few hours later at the Galdakao hospital, to which she had been taken. The alleged murderer had been ordered to keep away from the victim as a result of previous complaints of abuse and had been arrested in the past for mistreating his partner, with whom he had two young children." (Agencia EFE, 20 January 2005). Córdoba: "Alfonsa Mohedano, aged 35, died this morning as a result of the serious injuries inflicted upon her last night by her ex-husband, Pedro Cantillo, aged 39, who, in defiance of the legal order which banned him from going within 300 metres of the victim, hit her on the head with a stick and ran away, leaving her unconscious. This latest case of domestic violence took place in the town of La Victoria (Córdoba), where the Civil Guard arrested the alleged murderer at 19.30 hours." (El País, 8 October 2004). Barcelona: " The man who hammered his ex-wife to death in the doorway of their home last Tuesday had been reported by the victim 54 times over the past 10 years. A total of 15 courts in Barcelona had processed these complaints, some of which had ended in convictions. The latest complaint came just two weeks ago, when the man was sentenced to pay a fine of 720 euros for defying a restraining order imposed by a judge and another two fines of 30 euros each for threatening and slandering her." (El País, 12 June 2003)

In Spain, waking up to the news that yet another woman was murdered by her partner or former partner the day before has become chillingly commonplace. Although many of the survivors had suffered abuse for years without seeking help from the authorities, a significant number of those now dead had sought help. What is behind this reality? How could the message left by the deaths of the women who did dare to speak out have been ignored? It is worth noting that in Spain a very small minority of the very many women who suffer this kind of abuse file a complaint and that therefore those who filed complaints and subsequently were murdered are over-represented among them. Over and above the gravity of the cases of those who had sought protection and justice, the Spanish State also cannot disregard its own responsibility in failing to address the obstacles that discourage or prevent women from exercising their rights and obtaining an institutional response that halts the chain of abuse. Behind the statistics on the number of women murdered year after year, there are countless stories depicting the discrimination that women in fact encounter when seeking to have their most basic rights protected in the face of gender-based violence.

1.1. Figures and trends

In July 2004, upon examining the Fifth Periodic Report presented by Spain(6), the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (subsequently referred to as the CEDAW Committee) expressed its concern at "the prevalence of violence against women, particularly the alarming number of reported murders of women by current and former spouses or partners".(7)

Calculations based on official figures suggest that in Spain around two million women are subjected to gender-based violence by their partner or former partner. A macrosurvey commissioned by Spain’s Instituto de la Mujer (Institute for Women’s Issues) in 2002, in which a broad sample of women over 18 were interviewed, revealed that 4 per cent were aware they had been ill-treated during the previous year, and 11.1 per cent, although they did not admit to it, recognized that they had endured behaviour from their partner that was deemed by experts to indicate a certain level of violence.

In Spain only a small proportion of cases of violence against women at the hands of partners or former partners are reported. Most abuse suffered by women in the home remains hidden. The number of cases reported accounts for less than 5 per cent of the total.(8)

In 2003, 76,267 complaints of domestic violence were filed in first instance and magistrates’ courts (juzgados de primera instancia e instrucción) or magistrates’ courts (juzgados de instrucción) throughout Spain and 66,188 were processed, at a rate of 1.6 cases for every 1,000 inhabitants. In the first half of 2004, the number of such complaints filed in the Spanish courts totalled 47,320.(9)

Although the number of complaints filed each year is on the increase, the number of deaths is also increasing. According to figures from the Interior Ministry for 2003, 65 women died at the hands of their husband, former husband or a person with whom they had or had had a similar relationship.(10) According to information compiled by the Consejo General del Poder Judicial, violent deaths of women at the hands of their partner or former partner in Spain increased by almost 59 per cent between 2002 and 2003.(11)

According to figures for 2004 provided by the Instituto de la Mujer, 72 women died at the hands of their husband, former husband or a person with whom they had or had had a similar type of relationship.(12) They were aged between 15 and 82, lived in several different regions, came from a wide range of social backgrounds and were even of different nationalities, although most were Spanish as were their abusers. According to official sources, in the case of seven of these women, the courts had granted protection measures, meaning that, at the time of their deaths, the abuser was banned from going near them.

According to official figures, 70 per cent of women who suffer violence have been doing so for over five years.(13) At the same time, a report by the Spanish Ombudsman entitled Violencia Doméstica contra las Mujeres (Domestic Violence against Women) estimated that on average women go on living in a situation of abuse with the perpetrator for 7.5 years, "there being many reasons for this, including lack of understanding or help from society, lack of economic independence, children, etc".(14)

1.2 Behind the figures

The harm done to survivors of gender-based violence goes very deep and involves physical and psychological damage that has an enduring effect on what they are able to do, their work, their relationships and the exercise of all their rights.

"I have scars all over, but the biggest are right here and right here [she points to her head and her heart]; these are the ones which never heal. Well, I went on and on, putting up with it, but I already knew that it couldn’t go on and that, as soon as my children were grown up, I would leave. And so I did, that’s why I put up with so much."(15)

For large sectors of Spanish society, traditions based on gender stereotypes continue to weigh heavily on daily life, an issue that was raised by the CEDAW Committee in its comments on Spain in 2004. Although in the last thirty years Spain has undergone rapid change at the social and economic level, the ideas which shaped relationships between men and women in terms of the latter’s subordination and subjection to the former have persisted and it is within the family where there is the greatest likelihood of abuse taking place. The Spanish State has not effectively faced up to this reality. Certain influential groups within society and the authorities have put the family as an institution in a position where it seems to be protected at the expense of the human rights of its members.

The testimony of Marta(16) shows how cultural and religious conditioning continues to affect the reactions of family members to cases of gender-based violence: "A friend of mine rang my mother. Because my mother, by the way, is super-religious. It is the marriage that God wanted and you have to put up with it because that is God’s will. (...) At the time, I had to put up with it because he was my husband and he was having a bad time but I was very wild and always answered back. So of course I was left there defenceless, until a friend of mine rang my mother and said to her: look, you stick to your church, but one day we’re going to take your daughter out of her house in a coffin, because he is threatening to kill her (...). So my mother rang me and said that if things were that bad then I should leave and go to her house."

In a social context in which such violence has been tolerated and even encouraged, women’s autonomy and the decisions they make are often seen by their partners as intolerable actions which they have to sort out, even if it means using aggression.

In Spain, when those who suffer abuse at the hands of their husbands decide to seek a separation, their decision still tends to be met with a lack of understanding, lack of support and even rejection by their families and the community at large. Family and social pressure on survivors often leads them to tolerate years of abuse and serious risk. When they finally decide to end a violent relationship, they are often left to their own devices and get no help or support from their nearest and dearest.

Amalia(17) told of her family’s reaction to her situation: "My husband tried to kill me twice (...). My family still didn’t get it. They said things like: ‘Well, deep down he’s a good person, you need to learn to put up with it...’. Also, he drank, so it was: ‘when he drinks, you must learn not to provoke him. Because you are strong-headed...’ and, I carried on because he wouldn’t let me work either (...)". When Amalia decided to end the relationship with her abuser, she found no support from her family who thought that what she was doing was not right: "The next day I talked to my family. I told them it was final, that I wasn’t going back to him, that I didn’t know what I was going to do but I wasn’t going back. My parents told me that, well, they understood but they wouldn’t help me. That if that was how I saw it, I should wise up, that this wasn’t the way to go about things. So I called a social services number I found in the phone book".

Ana(18) told Amnesty International a similar story. A restraining order had been issued against both her husband and his mother: "There he was, with our daughters in front of him and, well, he began to insult me, not just him, his mother too, they began insulting me and, well, my daughters became hysterical, crying, me too, it was a horrible situation".

Not going to the authorities to report abuse in the home and in relationships is seen in some circles as a virtue on the part of women who have taken "discretion" to the point where it in fact acts as a gag.

The women interviewed by Amnesty International make noticeable references to the need to conceal the violence and to the social stigma that survivors face. The case of Gloria(19), who lives in a small town outside Madrid, is a case in point:

"I had already been separated for over a year, the right way, without any hassle, you know what I mean? To cover up for him more than I had already done, but he didn’t want to (...). The Civil Guard took me (to the health centre) and, then, since the doctor was on an urgent visit..., that’s how things are in small towns..., I felt really ashamed and I told the Civil Guard, ‘Take me home.’ And I came home. And of course it was... ‘What’s the matter, Gloria?’ Typical small town stuff... ‘Gloria, what happened to you?’ Of course, when you go off to see the Civil Guard, well you know how it is, ‘Has something happened to you, dear?’(...) Apart from that, when the Civil Guard took him the restraining order, it was, ‘Don’t go talking about this, madame, because no one is interested’."

Spanish society has not succeeded in addressing gender-based violence in the home as a human rights violation. Despite the public visibility and the increasing horror produced by the violent deaths of many women at the hands of their current or former partners, the idea that violence in a couple relationship is a private matter that needs to be sorted out without public intervention remains deeply entrenched.

1.3 Public policy and legislative reform

In recent years in Spain there has been a great deal of political and legislative activity in response to the problem of violence against women in the home. Amnesty International has responded to the various government and parliamentary proposals by publishing a series of reports. The organization’s recommendations have sought to ensure that, when measures are adopted, the institutional response complies with international human rights standards and that the recommendations made to the Spanish Government by the CEDAW Committee(20) are addressed.

Since 1998, the Spanish Government has approved two national action plans to stop violence against women: the Plan de Acción contra la Violencia Doméstica (1998-200) (Action Plan to Stop Domestic Violence, 1998-2000) and the II Plan Integral contra la Violencia Doméstica (2001-2004) (Second Comprehensive Plan to Stop Domestic Violence, 2001-2004).(21)

Within the framework of these action plans, between 1999 and 2004 the government pushed through a series of legislative initiatives which resulted in changes to the Código Penal (Penal Code), extending its coverage and toughening punishments, as well as to the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal (Code of Criminal Procedure), in which the situations in which precautionary measures can be adopted were extended.(22)

When these legislative reforms were being put through, Amnesty International expressed concern at the piecemeal approach being taken to the amendments and doubts about the effectiveness of the measures being proposed.(23) The organization insisted that making repeated changes in the area of punishment, with penalties being constantly being toughened, would not be effective if they were not accompanied by measures to improve the workings of the police and the courts during investigations. It also called attention to the situation of survivors once proceedings come to an end, both in terms of protection and their right to receive reparation.(24)

With regard to the type of proceedings used to prosecute this type of offence, an important development was the amendment made to the Code of Criminal Procedure to introduce so-called "juicios rápidos" ("fast-track trials").(25) Among the legislative and procedural measures contained in the Second Comprehensive Plan to Stop Domestic violence (2001-2004) was the goal of "establishing a legal framework which allows possible victims to be protected from violent acts and those committing such acts to be punished". In this connection, one of the actions to be undertaken was: "4. Within the framework of a new Code of Criminal Procedure, to analyze the following issues: (...) simplification and acceleration of legal proceedings in cases of both offences (delitos) and misdemeanours (faltas) through the use of fast-track trials".(26)

Criticism of these kinds of proceedings has come from a number of different sectors, including law professionals, especially those who provide legal assistance to survivors, forensic experts and even the Consejo General del Poder Judicial itself. The main point they make is that using fast-track trials in highly complex legal matters such as violence against women in the home has reduced the possibility of assembling adequate evidence which in turn fosters impunity. However, this criticism has not led to a review of such proceedings.

In 2002, at the request of women’s organizations, all parties with parliamentary representation, except for the then governing party which had a parliamentary majority, supported the passing of a bill(27) that would comprehensively address all manifestations of gender-based violence. This bill was rejected by parliament. Instead it was agreed to set up a parliamentary sub-committee to come back with a proposal that was acceptable to all sides.

On 1 August 2003, the Ley reguladora de la orden de protección de las víctimas de violencia doméstica (Law regulating protection orders for victims of domestic violence)(28) came into force. It was seen as a "bottom line" proposal by the majority of groups who had backed the earlier bill.

Having a "protection order" for victims of domestic violence meant concentrating in the person of the juez de instrucción de guardia, duty examining magistrate, the power to adopt, within 72 hours at most (after hearing the victim and the abuser separately), any procedural measures deemed necessary to protect the victim, any measures established for dealing with any offence committed (restraining orders, arrest warrants and imprisonment) and any temporary civil measures deemed necessary (who should have use of the home and custody of any children, maintenance payments), as well as authorize welfare payments to survivors without economic means, which meant that the judge could order the relevant institutions to pay out the amount of benefit established for that purpose.

However, the feasibility of the measures proposed in the law was called into question, since the resources to put them into practice had not been guaranteed. The Consejo General de la Abogacía Española (General Council of Spanish Lawyers), when considering the matter, said that "Most of the problems arose because approval of the law was not accompanied by the relevant Financial Statement showing how, once contracted, the resources required for properly implementing it would be effectively funded".(29) Consequently, the onus was shifted on to the Autonomous Communities, thereby contributing to uneven implementation of the measures in question depending on location.

Following the general election of 14 March 2004, the new governing party once again took up the issue of establishing a Ley Integral contra la violencia de género (Comprehensive Law on Gender-Based Violence) and pushed for a bill which would bring together in a single instrument measures to prevent, assist and protect survivors as well as measures to prosecute, investigate and punish any offence committed. During debate of the bill, disagreements arose about what the law should be called, triggering discussion of whether the law was discriminatory and unconstitutional in that the proposed measures solely benefited female victims of violence in the home.

The Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence was eventually passed in December 2004. It establishes the need to strengthen the resources available for the care of survivors so that they meet the minimum legal requirements, as well as the need to set up a more efficient system for coordinating municipal and regional services. It also provides for verification of the effectiveness of the measures agreed and their suitability to survivors’ needs, which will be the main job of a newly-created body called the Observatorio Nacional de Violencia sobre la Mujer (National Observatory on Violence against Women).

It is worth highlighting that, as a result of this law, it has been recognized for the first time that "all women who suffer gender-based violence, regardless of their origin, religion or any other personal or social condition or circumstance, are guaranteed the rights established in this law".(30) Similarly, for the first time it recognizes that there are certain groups of women who are "at greater risk of suffering gender-based violence or who have more difficulties in gaining access to services".(31)

Amnesty International worked hard to have these issues taken up and has expressed its satisfaction at the fact that they were included. However, the organization believes that there are still issues to be addressed.(32) They include, among others, protection measures for survivors and witnesses during legal proceedings, measures concerning the gathering of evidence and investigation of offences, and measures to ensure that survivors have the right to seek reparation through the courts.

The Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence came into force on 29 January 2005, except for the provisions under headings IV (Tutela Penal, Criminal Protection) and V (Tutela Judicial, Judicial Protection), which are due to enter into force six months later, namely, on 29 June 2005. Within that same six-month period, the following measures also have to be taken: a) the issuing of any regulations required in all spheres of work; b) adoption by the Ministry of Justice of the measures required to establish Juzgados de Violencia sobre la Mujer, courts that will specialize in cases of violence against women; c) adoption of measures to bring the structure of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in line with the provisions of the Basic Law; and d) the drawing up by the Consejo General del Poder Judicial of the necessary regulations for scheduling cases, ensuring that the duty rotas are adjusted to take account of the existence of the new courts dealing with violence against women, and ensuring coordination between the Judicial Police and those courts.

In recent years, some Autonomous Communities, including Castilla La Mancha,(33) Cantabria,(34) Navarra(35) and the Canary Islands (Canarias),(36) have used the powers available to them to adopt autonomous legislation to provide a comprehensive response to violence against women. In Andalucía, an autonomous law of this type is in the pipeline. The law passed by the Autonomous Parliament of the Canary Islands is noteworthy for including definitions contained in international human rights standards. For example, violence is defined as including violence inflicted within both the public and private spheres and violence inflicted by State officials and private individuals.

2. The State’s responsibility to tackle gender-based violence
The UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, which has been signed and ratified by the Spanish State, obliges States to condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, and to adopt, "without delay" and "by all appropriate means"(37), policies that seek to eliminate discrimination against women. Discrimination is defined as including gender-based violence which is in turn defined as violence inflicted on women by reason of their sex or violence that affects women in a disproportionate manner.

In 1992, General Recommendation 19 of the CEDAW Committee established that "[g]ender-based violence is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits women's ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men".(38)

The obligation to exercise due diligence
In its General Recommendation 19 on violence against women, the CEDAW Committee asserts that "States may also be responsible for private acts if they fail to act with due diligence to prevent violations of rights or to investigate and punish acts of violence, and for providing compensation".(39)

In 1993, the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women urged States to "[e]xercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons".(40)

"Due diligence" means the efforts the State must make to comply with its duty to protect all persons against human rights abuse. This basic principle of international law is crucial for explaining the extent of the responsibility that is incumbent on the State, not only in relation to violent acts committed by State officials but also human rights abuses committed by private individuals.

The obligation on the State to respect and protect international human rights standards and to ensure that they are respected and protected by others includes, among others, the duty to(41):

a) Take appropriate legislative and administrative and other appropriate measures to prevent violations;

b) Investigate violations effectively, promptly, thoroughly and impartially and, where appropriate, take action against the alleged perpetrator in accordance with domestic and international law;

c) Provide those who claim to be victims of a human rights or humanitarian law violation with equal and effective access to justice, as described below, irrespective of who may ultimately be the bearer of responsibility for the violation; and

d) Afford effective, prompt and appropriate procedural and substantive remedies to victims, including providing and facilitating reparation to victims, as defined below.

General Recommendation 19 of the CEDAW Committee also states that States must make sure that the measures put in place to combat violence are appropriate and effective.(42) In this regard, the Committee recommended, as far back as 1999, that Spain should periodically check the effectiveness of any measures taken.(43)

3. Observations and concerns with regard to the State’s response

3.1. Overview of the Spanish State’s response
When formulating and putting into practice measures to make human rights a reality for all survivors of gender-based violence, States should take as the starting point for their response the need to recognize the existence of gender inequalities and correctly identify the needs of women, including the specific needs of certain groups that face additional disadvantages. Looking at experiences throughout the world, disregard of gender issues and other factors that cut across them has meant that, on the one hand, insufficient attention has been paid to crucial aspects that could make women's rights a reality and, on the other, inappropriate measures have been used to tackle violence against women in the home. In terms of overall results, this has resulted in ineffective action being taken and caused those who actually suffer such abuse to experience defencelessness, exclusion, revictimization and disempowerment.

Having examined the response provided by the Spanish State, Amnesty International lays special emphasis on three points which need to be seriously addressed if the recently adopted legislation against gender-based violence is to be effective:
a) Account has to be taken of the needs of those who survive gender-based violence. This includes recognizing the particular disadvantages faced by certain groups and gearing strategies and measures towards empowering women, both as individuals and as a group;
b) All the obstacles and obstructions that stand in the way of or adversely affect women’s human rights need to be identified and overcome. This means acting without delay to correct laws, mechanisms, practices and actions that discriminate against women or groups of women on grounds of origin, administrative status, race or on any other grounds; and
c) Steps should be taken to ensure that the public resources available can guarantee the care and protection required by survivors of gender-based violence in the home throughout Spain.

Since 2002, when it published a report entitled There is no excuse(44), and throughout 2003 and 2004, Amnesty International has been urging the Spanish State to pay attention to these points which have been raised in several international human rights instruments, including, among others, the Declaration and Platform for Action issued by the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing (1995), (subsequently referred to as the Beijing Platform for Action), and various European instruments.

One of the main recommendations made to States by human rights organizations relates to the importance of ensuring that, in addition to introducing such measures, they are geared towards achieving women’s autonomy. In 2002, the European Council recommended States to "[r]eview legislation and policies with a view to (…) ensuring that measures are focused on the needs of the victims"(45) and recommended that member States "[i]ntroduce, develop and/or improve where necessary, national policies against violence based on: a. maximum safety and protection of victims; b. empowerment of victimized women by optimal support and assistance structures which avoid secondary victimization".(46)

In this regard, UN General Assembly Resolution 52/86, concerning crime prevention and criminal justice measures to eliminate violence against women, urged States to formulate "specific crime prevention strategies that reflect the realities of women's lives and address their distinct needs".(47)

It is worth pointing out that in 1999 the CEDAW Committee had already made observations and recommendations to Spain concerning the issues mentioned above upon which Amnesty International has laid great emphasis, including the particular risks and lack of protection faced by certain groups of women.(48)

The recently adopted Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence contains specific provisions that address several of the recommendations made by the Committee in 1999. However, Amnesty International believes that it is not sufficient for these points to be covered in the law. The real challenge is to make them effective and to develop them at a practical level.

The organization wishes to highlight issues relating to the Spanish State’s obligation to refrain from discrimination and thereby guarantee the right of all women to receive protection and justice with regard to gender-based violence.

Amnesty International has been concerned that State plans and legislative and administrative measures to tackle gender-based violence adopted in recent years have not started from the premise that women are a heterogeneous group. The absence of studies and information relating to the particular risks faced by different subgroups has seriously hampered the protection work done by the authorities in this area, as indicated by the Beijing Platform for Action.

Until the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence was passed, there had been no official recognition of the fact that certain groups of women are particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged. The absence of specific measures in both the First Action Plan (1998-2000) and the Second Comprehensive Plan (2001-2004) clearly demonstrated this.

The Beijing Platform for Action pointed to the importance of acknowledging the existence of "[s]ome groups of women, such as women belonging to minority groups, indigenous women, refugee women, women migrants, including women migrant workers, women in poverty living in rural or remote communities".(49) UN General Assembly Resolution 52/86 concerning crime prevention and criminal justice measures to eliminate violence against women, reminds States that they must take into account that "[s]ome groups of women are especially vulnerable to violence".(50)

When devising public policy to halt discrimination and violence against women, in addition to gender roles, other factors, such as nationality, social class, ethnic background, age and sexual orientation, also need to be taken into account. It is the combination of several forms of discrimination, among other things, which determines access, or the absence thereof, to a whole range of social and financial resources. These factors can make these groups of women more vulnerable to gender-based violence and hamper their access to protection and justice.

Spanish society is diverse and the measures adopted should cover all aspects of this diversity. At the moment certain groups of women come up against additional obstacles and disadvantages which make them particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence in the home. Migrant women without legal documentation, Roma women and women with disabilities, among others, often do not have access to assistance and protection resources that meet their particular needs.

Migrant women
Over the past few years, Amnesty International has expressed concern about the standards and practices which undermine the protection of the fundamental rights of undocumented women migrants in relation to gender-based violence. Although human rights law unequivocally asserts that it is the State’s duty to guarantee these women the same protection that is afforded to other victims, the reality is very different. This situation has been expressly denounced by Amnesty International in successive reports on gender-based violence in Spain as well as in the context of debates on immigration matters.(51) However, as documented in this report, this group of women continues to encounter obstacles when seeking access to shelter resources and financial aid for survivors of gender-based violence.

In its 2004 report containing conclusions and recommendations addressed to Spain, the CEDAW Committee expressed its concern about the situation of women migrants in the following terms: "Noting that, since 1999, there has been a quadrupling of immigration into Spain, the Committee is concerned about the multiple forms of discrimination which migrant women, including those who are undocumented, may face by public authorities, private employers and individuals, as well as the difficulties in becoming integrated into Spanish society (…)". In view of this, the Committee "urges the State party to take effective measures to eliminate discrimination against migrant women, both within immigrant communities and in society at large, and to ensure that the women concerned are made aware of available social services and legal remedies and are being supported in accessing them".(52)

For its part, in 2002, the Council of Europe urged States to "ensure that all available legal services and solutions for the victims of domestic violence be provided to immigrant women who request them".(53)

In 1998, a report by the Ombudsman on domestic violence against women recommended "that sufficient publicity be given to shelters and refuges and that they be equipped to receive women who, as nationals of other countries, need shelter structures that are adapted to their own language and customs".(54)

This lack of response to cultural diversity seems to disregard the profound changes that have taken place over the past decade in the social and demographic composition of Spanish society as a result of the rapid increase in the immigrant population. Between 2002 and 2003, the immigrant population in possession of residence permits in Spain increased by 24.40 per cent, with an overall increase of 323,010 people during that year.(55) Furthermore, they make up an even greater proportion of the users of certain public services, which means that the latter have to devote a significant amount of attention to them. At Madrid’s Servicio de Atención a Víctimas de la Violencia Doméstica – SAVD (Service for Victims of Domestic Violence), 44.91 per cent of the women dealt with between January and August 2003 were foreign. In 2001, foreign women had accounted for 34.13 per cent, meaning that in less than two years there had been a 10.78 per cent increase.(56) However, the services are not equipped to provide appropriate care for people from cultural backgrounds that are very different from that of Spain and who sometimes do not speak the language. The testimonies collected by Amnesty International reveal that some of those in charge of providing services, including, for example, some shelters, are sometimes completely insensitive to the customs of others.

In an interview with Amnesty International in November 2004, the Director General for Women’s Affairs of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (CAM) provided clear evidence that undocumented women migrants who have suffered gender-based violence are prevented from accessing facilities: "At CAM facilities, access for undocumented women migrants was not considered. This means that lots of women do not get access to the resources available from the administration. Regulations need to be introduced to establish access, because in principle there is no such requirement, and although it is very hard from a personal standpoint to say this, we cannot offer undocumented women our services as things stand at the moment. They cannot come in because they do not file charges. If they do not file charges, they cannot enter the shelter system, the specific occupational training system, the labour mediation system, they do not have access to any of the resources".(57)

The obstacles that stand in the way of this group of women having their human rights protected have led to complaints being submitted to the Ombudsman by the very officials in charge of managing services for the survivors of gender-based violence, who find it impossible to guarantee them the help they need. In the Ombudsman’s report for 2003, the following example was included:
"The Social Services Director at the Centre for General Social Services in Guadarrama (Madrid) informed this Institution about the situation of a North African mother of two who was being ill-treated by her partner. This woman filed a complaint about these events and entered emergency accommodation as a matter of urgency. She remained there for one month, while appropriate permanent social provision was sought for her and her children. The problem was that no plans had been drawn up to provide an appropriate solution for a person of that kind, namely, a battered North African woman, married with children, who did not have a valid residence permit despite having lived in Spain for many years. Consequently, it was necessary to find her accommodation in a place which would accept people without valid documentation, accept children and could provide the necessary psychological, social and employment support to enable her to stay there for at least six months. According to the Director of the Centre for Social Services in Guadarrama, a number of different institutions were approached, all to no avail. In conclusion, it was found that, although the emergency aid was adequate, there did not seem to be any kind of stable social facility available to prevent what in fact happened: that the woman was obliged to go back and live with her abuser".(58)

If the principle of non-discrimination, as set out in the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence, is not to remain simply a statement of principle but is to effectively correct the existing discriminatory practices, the Central Government must develop clear guidelines so that this principle is integral to the management systems of all welfare and justice measures established for survivors.

Roma women
International human rights bodies also point to the particular vulnerability to gender-based violence faced by women from ethnic minorities and stress how important it is that, by taking into consideration their specific circumstances, States provide specific measures that are designed to guarantee full human rights protection for these groups.(59) In particular, the CEDAW Committee has expressed its concern at the lack of effective human rights protection for Roma women in Spain and has urged the Spanish Government to "promote and protect the human rights of Roma women".(60)

In Spain, the Roma community is the largest ethnic minority.(61) The absence of official data regarding the incidence and specific characteristics of gender-based violence among this population, as well as the obstacles Roma women encounter when seeking protection, helps to perpetuate the invisibility and impunity of the gender abuse suffered by Roma women.

A study by the Fundación Secretariado General Gitano (General Secretariat of the Gypsy Foundation)(62) outlines the difficulties faced by Roma women who have survived violence when they try to access the network of resources. These difficulties are due largely to the fact that the programmes or services on offer fail to take account of the particular characteristics of their culture. Furthermore, non-acceptance of children above a certain age is particularly off-putting for Roma women, for whom being taken away from their children is one of their greatest fears. This study shows the results of fieldwork carried out in 391 public and private centres and services in 16 autonomous communities, 84 per cent of which had no specific programme to cater for cultural diversity.

Another barrier identified as being crucial for Roma women is the fact that they are required to file a complaint with the police or the courts in order to access resources. Roma custom does not easily accept one Roma denouncing another before the courts of the majority society and therefore women only do so in very extreme situations, since this would inevitably cause them to distance themselves from their community.

Rosa(63), a Roma woman interviewed by Amnesty International, described the implications for a Roma woman of reporting her husband:

"I cannot report him, that’s the truth of the matter, because if I report him I will get the entire family against me, because that is the worst thing you can do among gypsies. (…) It is looked upon very badly for a woman to report her husband, it is the worst thing on this Earth and it is a sure road to ruin."

Isabel(64), a Roma woman who tried to leave her husband after a brutal beating, tried to explain the difficulties she found when she sought help, and how, once she took the step of fleeing, she found no other options and was forced to return to her partner:

"I can look after myself my way, in my own manner, but not in yours. I mean, if they gave me some time to learn to read and write, things would be different. To have a little time to adapt to where you are, what you want to do, to know you’re going to make it with your children and that you they won’t push you back, because they don't offer you a way out, they don't give you any help, they really don’t help you".

Amnesty International believes that the planes de cooperación (cooperation programmes)(65) envisaged under the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence should include specific measures for ensuring human rights protection for Roma women who suffer gender-based violence that address the circumstances of particular vulnerability and the institutional obstacles that this group faces.

Women with physical or mental disabilities
Another group recognized by international bodies as being especially at risk of gender-based violence in the home, as well as to additional discrimination, are women with disabilities.(66)

In Spain there are almost two million thirty thousand women with disabilities. In Europe, it has been estimated that around 40 per cent of such women suffer or have suffered some form of violence.(67) However, according to Ana Peláez, speaking on behalf of the Comité Español de Representantes de Personas con Discapacidad (Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities), the plans, measures, services and resources established to inform, advise and protect people who are subjected to abuse "have not taken into account the particular characteristics of women with disabilities and so they are not accessible to them. (…) Another way they are discriminated against is through the physical barriers and the obstacles to understanding and communication that exist at offices and courts and which prevent women with physical disabilities from freely accessing them".(68)

Before the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence was passed, there had been no legal provisions or official plans listing the duties incumbent on protection authorities in order to effectively safeguard the human rights of women with disabilities in the face of violence. The organization has learned that women with disabilities in Spain suffer serious discrimination when seeking to access basic welfare provision for survivors. Women are often expected to be able to live independently in order to access shelters for survivors, most of which are not equipped to receive people who have any kind of special need.

The Basque Ombudsman (Ararteko)(69) reported that "[w]hen women with drug addiction problems, mental illness or physical, psychological or sensory disabilities are victims of domestic abuse and violence, they cannot access these resources. Most of the apartments provided as shelter are not even appropriately fitted out for use by people with mobility problems (they are located on upper floors with no lift, etc)".(70)

According to information received by Amnesty International, in July 2004 in Vitoria, a programme to provide psychological care for survivors of gender-based violence was transferred to a building with several flights of stairs and a very narrow lift which did not allow wheelchair access, triggering protests by women's organizations.

The most serious difficulty for deaf women is in obtaining access to information and in communicating that they are being abused.(71) As far as women who have mobility problems is concerned, shelters are often not designed to accommodate them. Amnesty International is concerned at the evident lack of sensitivity shown by institutions in designing and planning facilities that cater for the disadvantages faced by this group of women, whose disabilities in many cases have been the result of, or exacerbated by, gender-based violence in the home.

In the process of drafting the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence, disabled people's organizations worked intensively with the authorities and succeeded in ensuring that the law recognized the vulnerability of this group, as well as the duty of institutions to remove the obstacles that currently undermine the protection of these women. Amnesty International welcomes this legal provision but would remind the authorities that the obligation to act with due diligence means that it has to be implemented and this requires the necessary professional and financial resources to be allocated to it. The specific needs of this group of women should be assessed and the government should ensure that specific steps are taken to provide care and reparation for all of these groups of women and to check that they are properly implemented in each of the Autonomous Communities.

3.2. Preventing gender-based violence
Given that violence against women is not a random event but something which stems from cultural and social patterns that are deeply entrenched within society, international bodies have stressed the importance of working to raise social awareness and to educate.

Article 5 of the CEDAW Convention states that "States Parties shall take all appropriate measures: (…) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women".(72)

Similarly, one of the main concerns raised in the July 2004 CEDAW report concerning Spain’s compliance with its commitments under the Convention was the persistence within Spanish society of a set of roles and stereotypes that discriminate against women and give rise to gender-based violence. The Committee therefore urged the Spanish State to "take additional measures to eliminate stereotypical attitudes about the roles and responsibilities of women and men, including through awareness-raising and educational campaigns directed at both women and men and at the media, and carefully monitor the impact of such measures".(73)

Amnesty International has expressed concern about the focus of the awareness-raising initiatives undertaken by the authorities in recent years. The messages have been mostly directed at survivors themselves, with little emphasis and few resources being devoted to raising awareness within society as a whole, particularly among men.(74) The most common messages sent out to date have been ones repeatedly stressing to women the importance of taking the initiative to report violence and ask for help. Since these messages have not been accompanied by others directed at those perpetrating the violence against them, the idea that women are responsible for their own situation has been reinforced.

The organization has also criticized the short duration of awareness campaigns, thereby not allowing time for feedback or for the ideas to permeate society, and the fact that advertising companies were commissioned to run them, with no input from civil society, especially women’s organizations. Finally, a glaring omission was the absence of any in-depth evaluation of the impact of the campaigns in question.

As far as educational measures are concerned, Amnesty International has emphasized their importance in preventing gender-based violence and is disappointed to find that measures to prevent gender-based violence in a co-educational environment, including the crucial task of training teachers, have received substantially less financial support than other measures.(75)

Amnesty International welcomes the provisions relating to education contained in the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence, including those relating to introductory and on-going training for teachers. The organization believes that educating teachers about equality between men and women is part and parcel of providing them with sound human rights training that goes beyond merely passing on knowledge and techniques. Amnesty International has been calling for human rights to be made a compulsory subject in teacher training, in line with the proposals and recommendations made by the UN Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) and those put forward for the subsequent decade 2005-2014.

3.3. Detecting abuse
The Beijing Platform for Action stated that it was essential to "[r]ecognize, support and promote the fundamental role of intermediate institutions, such as primary health-care centres, family-planning centres, existing school health services, mother and baby protection services, centres for migrant families and so forth in the field of information and education related to abuse".(76)

Primary healthcare centres, mental health services and hospital emergency departments could provide some of the best means of detecting gender-based violence. According to the World Health Organization, "Most women come into contact with the health system at some point in their lives. This makes the health care setting an important place where women undergoing abuse can be identified, provided with support and referred if necessary to specialized services. Unfortunately, studies show that in most countries, doctors and nurses rarely enquire of women whether they are being abused, or even check for obvious signs of violence".(77)

General recommendation 24 by the CEDAW Committee addresses the States’ obligation to intervene in the area of health in order to protect women’s right to health:

"Since gender-based violence is a critical health issue for women, States parties should ensure (…) the enactment and effective enforcement of laws and the formulation of policies, including health care protocols and hospital procedures to address violence against women and abuse of girl children and the provision of appropriate health services".(78)

In Spain, specialist health workers and institutions responsible to the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs both agree that "almost all survivors visited their doctor in the year after they were assaulted".(79)

Amnesty International is concerned that the resources and training provided for health workers in health centres that perform this important task are insufficient. Despite the existence of willing health professionals who are fully aware of the importance of their job, the material conditions in which they have to do their work prevents them from devoting all the attention required by such an evidently complex "new front" as the detection of gender-based violence in the home.

This lack of resources means that the bulk of measures and strategies designed to provide care to survivors of this kind of abuse are focused on women seeking emergency help and little attempt is made to detect any evidence of violence that is not revealed by the victim herself.

As part of the activities undertaken in the context of the First Action Plan against Domestic Violence (1998-2000), the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System developed a health protocol for dealing with ill-treatment. Although as part of the First Action Plan this material was printed, reprinted in 2000 and distributed throughout the country (there were 25,095 copies in total), Amnesty International has learned that its distribution was not accompanied by a suitable programme of action to raise awareness and train staff or to push for its evaluation.

With regard to the lack of training among health workers, a specialist in primary healthcare said that "[n]o resources at all are provided for training, health programmes stay on desks in health ministry offices".(80) In response to a question from Amnesty International, another health professional who works in a Madrid health centre replied that, "Here we carry on doing what we have always done, I think a letter arrived with instructions as to what to do in cases of ill-treatment, but that’s all".(81)

Amnesty International has also received complaints from health workers about the lack of priority given to initiatives for training personnel in these matters. In this regard, a specialist interviewed by Amnesty International said the following:
"Health professionals could perform early detection and that is vitally important, because a woman who has been abused for a year or two is not yet totally destroyed (…). Training is a highly useful tool for motivating professionals, but workforces are frozen, locums are not brought in. All professionals are entitled to forty hours of training per year, but how can you go if they don’t provide a locum? I was never asked if I wanted AIDS training, they sent me off to do it and they brought in a locum".(82)

Some organizations within the health sector have complained that, despite rising healthcare needs, there has been no increase in staffing which means that health workers are forced to treat as many as 50 or 60 people during their working day.(83) A manifesto signed in October 2003 by Sociedad Española de Medicina de Familia y Comunitaria - SEMFYC (Spanish Association for Family and Community Medicine) stated that "we family doctors in Spain see 40 per cent more patients than our European counterparts, with a ratio of family doctors to the total number of practicing physicians that is below the European average. As a result, we are the doctors who have least time to devote to patients who visit our surgeries".(84) These organizations complain that in these conditions it is practically impossible to make a thorough examination of someone who comes seeking medical treatment and therefore detect possible cases of violence against women in the home.

The lack of training and resources provided to health workers is also patently obvious in the case of Nadia(85), a woman whose husband brutally assaulted her on a number of occasions over a period of eleven years. She was even left for dead following one attack which caused her permanent brain damage. She had visited health centres on many occasions to have her injuries treated. She always blamed them on accidents. Once, a doctor asked her if her husband had hit her:

"It was the only time I saw a woman doctor and she immediately understood what was going on and she didn’t give me time to lie to her (….) She didn’t ask ‘What is wrong with you?’, she said, ‘This man has hurt you, hasn’t he?’. That’s when I admitted what had happened, because she asked me directly and in a few seconds I tried to tell her everything but I couldn’t because he was there. My eardrum had been perforated, I was six or seven months pregnant, well, I was beaten to a pulp, I had marks all over my body, but the worst was my ear which was bursting, and my head (…). He used to stamp on my head in his shoes and that is how he perforated my eardrum. (The doctor) said: I am going to call the police right now, and I refused (…). I think I made an impact on that woman and in fact I think if I saw her again in a crowd of a hundred people, I would recognize her. The only thing I remember about that woman was the look of horror on her face. All she could say to me was, ‘I’m sorry but I’m going to file a report, it’s my duty’."(86)

Nadia said that every time she visited the emergency department of a health centre, her husband was allowed to go in with her. Although other doctors had also realized what was going on when they saw her injuries and even bite marks, no one ever informed her that she could get protection: "I did not have any information, that is what makes me sad, I waited for eleven years because I didn’t have the information. No one ever told me there were institutions that would give you a bed, a place in a shelter, where you and your children would be safe, I really didn’t know about it".(87)

In the case of Mercedes(88), insufficient time during her appointments with the doctor was the reason why she did not obtain the necessary support: "I used to tell him my story (the doctor), I told him everything that was happening and what I was going through (…) but since he didn’t have time, he paid no attention".(89)

In Spain, the Guía de Buena Práctica Clínica en Abordaje en situaciones de violencia de género (Good Practice Guide for Dealing with Gender-Based Violence), published in 2004 by the Organización Médica Colegial de España (Spanish Medical Association) and the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs, points out that "Without adequate health intervention that allows a diagnosis to be made of all these situations and comprehensive treatment of the clinical repercussions to be provided so that women can recover and play an active and independent role in a new setting in which the violence has been left behind, the problem will never be solved (…) Not all survivors of this violence file a complaint so that a judicial investigation can be opened, but their health is undermined in all cases, and they all end up seeking medical help for reasons that are more or less directly related to it".(90)

Amnesty International believes that the health authorities should without delay introduce information and detection measures to face up to the challenge posed by the huge number of survivors of gender-based violence who do not seek direct help but who do visit health centres. Public bodies should adapt their responses to the situation and needs of survivors so that women will have greater confidence in them. They should also support them in exercising their right to live their lives free from violence. It is regrettable that this recent criticism of the overall situation by the World Health Organization applies to Spain: "(…) the response of the health sector to violence is largely reactive and therapeutic. Because that response tends to be fragmented into areas of special interest and expertise…".(91)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is proposing that national health systems, in their entirety, should aspire to providing good quality assistance to the survivors of all types of violence, as well as any rehabilitation and support resources that are required to prevent subsequent complications. According to the WHO, the priorities should be as follows: - Improvements to emergency response systems and the ability of the health care sector to treat and rehabilitate survivors; - Recognition of signs of violent incidents or ongoing violent situations, and referral of survivors to appropriate agencies for follow-up and support; - Ensure that health, judicial, policing and social services avoid renewed victimization of earlier survivors and effectively deter perpetrators from re-offending; - Incorporation of modules on violence prevention into the curricula for medical and nursing students. World Report on Violence and Health. World Health Organization, Geneva, 2002. Summary, p. 10.

To overcome this limited approach, specialist health personnel interviewed by Amnesty International say that a comprehensive health programme against violence is required and not just individual health care protocols. They believe that protocols are limited in their scope, whereas treatment of gender-based violence in the home requires an integrated approach that sees it as a public health issue. Those who specialize in the field are calling for a programme which "covers the phases of planning, organization, development and evaluation, a health programme which operates at all levels of the health system, includes epidemiological monitoring, provides for evaluation, looks at the different intervention strategies to be followed at individual and community level, and envisages prevention, care and rehabilitation. In short, a healthcare programme just like in other cases that is much more global, (health) protocols do not approach it as a health problem".(92)

The Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence, in its chapter on health, calls for a section on comprehensive prevention and intervention in cases of gender-based violence to be included in National Health Plans(93). This would seem to indicate the establishment of a health programme similar to the one outlined above. However, when the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System discussed setting up a Commission against Gender-Based Violence that would make proposals about the measures required to "implement the health protocol"(94), it was not clear whether the aim was to move towards a comprehensive health programme, of which the protocol would be just a part, or if the working tools would remain unchanged.

An essential starting point must be getting to know and understand the conditions that make it hard for women to escape from situations of gender-based violence. The relevant section of the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence should therefore serve to consolidate a health strategy that encompasses the early detection of violence and the establishment of welfare provision and a suitable referral system for all survivors.

The fact that health workers lack the training and resources to detect and treat victims of violence means that a golden opportunity to detect violence is lost. From the outset, women’s fundamental rights are left unprotected. Primary detection by health care services could be instrumental in ensuring that survivors have access to resources which they might otherwise never obtain. If the Spanish State fails to provide the necessary resources so that trained personnel can detect these situations and treat them and so that survivors can enter into contact with a network that will safeguard their rights, then it is a long way from meeting its obligation to prevent and protect women from gender-based violence.

In the opinion of Amnesty International, it is vital that the regulations developed from the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence address the question of drafting, disseminating and effectively implementing a comprehensive plan for early detection and care of gender-based violence within the health system. It is also essential for any such plan to be based on what, for the World Health Organization, is a fundamental recommendation: it must incorporate proper "safeguards against ‘‘revictimization’’ – the placing of victims at risk of further violence by perpetrators, censure from their families or communities, or other negative consequences".(95)

3.4. Help and shelter
The response survivors receive when they first contact public services set up to help them deal with gender-based violence can have a decisive effect on their lives. The intervention such services make may shape their future actions and decisions, including whether to stay trapped in a violent relationship or stand up for their rights. Within the international human rights framework, the right to a remedy and reparation encompasses the provision of services to help survivors recover from the human rights violations they have suffered. This framework applies to survivors of gender-based violence.

Amnesty International is concerned that such immediate and comprehensive help is not being guaranteed for all survivors. The organization has received testimonies from women who did not find such support or did not receive it when they needed it, thus affecting their subsequent decisions.

The provision of psychological assistance to survivors is often one of the areas that is most neglected by public authorities.

Gloria(96), who lives in a town in the Madrid region, told Amnesty International how her immediate need for help was not met: "I went to the place in Arganda the Guardia Civil told me about, where they help women. They did nothing, because, just imagine: they listened to me, they told me what I needed, because I was not balanced that day, I was in a bad way, and they told me to go and see a psychologist in twelve days’ time. I needed a psychologist then, not in twelve days (…) and I didn’t go back after twelve days".

In his 2003 report, the Ombudsman for Andalucía said, "We have seen how, in many cases, the actual resources fell far short of users’ expectations, either because they had initially been given the wrong information or because access to help depended on the existence of a favourable social situation".(97)

In successive reports on Spain published since 2002, Amnesty International has been expressing concern at the fact that shelter facilities do not meet the needs of survivors of gender-based abuse and that the management approach used by them is not geared towards encouraging women’s autonomy.

The Beijing Platform for Action urged governments to "[p]rovide well-funded shelters and relief support for girls and women subjected to violence".(98) There is concern that shelter facilities for survivors in Spain fail to meet the following conditions, which are essential if they are to be effective:
Availability: each State must have sufficient numbers of these facilities.
Accessibility: such facilities should be accessible to everyone under the State’s jurisdiction without distinction, especially the most vulnerable groups and those with the least social power.

Acceptability and quality: such facilities should be geared towards achieving women’s autonomy, ensuring that an ethical approach is taken to the work done with survivors, especially with regard to confidentiality, and incorporating interculturality and a gender perspective. The staff responsible for providing such services must have the necessary training and professionalism to be able to respond to the needs of survivors.

Limited resources and uneven provision depending on location
According to the Report on Action against Domestic Violence (Memoria de actuaciones contra la violencia doméstica), compiled by the General Administration of the State and the Autonomous Communities in 2003 and published by the Instituto de la Mujer in September 2004, there are 293 temporary accommodation facilities in Spain. As well as emergency centres, these include shelters (casas de acogida) and safe houses (pisos tutelados), as well as 27 facilities of other kinds.

The occupancy rate varies greatly, depending on the town or autonomous community in question. The perception among professionals who come into contact with these facilities is that occupancy has fallen since the introduction of the "protection order", since this quickly enables many women to remain in their own homes.

The emergency centres were devised as places of shelter and protection in urgent situations, from where, following an assessment of their case, women are referred to the facilities considered most suitable for them. They are not designed for long stays, but the average time spent in them, depending on the autonomous community in question, ranges from six days in La Rioja to 30 in Madrid.(99)

Shelters are envisaged as centres in which women’s need to be safe is accompanied by comprehensive work that enables survivors to overcome the trauma suffered as a result of the abusive relationship and to be able to lead a more independent life. The specific services provided by these shelters usually include advice on legal, psychological or social and work-related matters. There are 106 centres of this type throughout Spain.

The third type of facility is the safe house, usually an apartment. These are made available to women who have already spent time in a shelter and, despite having had their more urgent needs met, still need psycho-social support and accommodation. There are 126 such apartments throughout Spain.

Finally, in some areas hotels and boarding houses are sometimes used as emergency accommodation.

Administrations	Emergency centres	Shelters	Safe houses
General Administration	0	1	0
Andalucía	8	8	23
Aragón	0	3	0
Asturias	0	4	1
Balearics	1	9	0
Canary Islands	0	14	15
Cantabria	0	2	2
Castilla la Mancha	4	11	1
Castilla y León	3	17	3
Cataluña	3	5	7
Extremadura	0	2	2
Galicia	1	9	2
Madrid	4	3	5
Murcia	1	4	1
Navarra	1	1	5
Basque Country	3	0	51
La Rioja	1	1	0
Valencia	2	10	8
Ceuta	1	1	1
Melilla	0	1	0
TOTAL	33	106	127

Source: Memoria de actuaciones contra la violencia doméstica, compiled by the General Administration of the State and the Autonomous Communities in 2003, published September 2004, Instituto de la Mujer, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

The table shows that, owing to decentralized administration, services and resources are unevenly distributed throughout the country. The CEDAW Committee, in its report to the Spanish State in 1999, remarked on the differences between the different areas of Spain resulting from decentralization and expressed concern that women’s rights may be unevenly protected for reasons of geography. Analysis of the resources on offer in the different autonomous communities reveals that these differences, which are often quite significant, occur not only between different autonomous communities but can also be considerable even between locations within the same community.

The availability of services and resources has also varied at different times. According to information obtained by Amnesty International, their survival has been affected by changes in local or autonomous administrations and sometimes the decision on whether or not to put them into operation has depended on the particular circumstances pertaining at the time.

As shown in the table above, the provision of both shelters and safe houses has gradually increased in recent years. However, Amnesty International notes with concern that the number of emergency centres has actually declined from 41 in 2000 to 31 in 2003 despite the fact that the need to provide survivors with emergency accommodation as a matter of urgency has not subsided.

The organization has found that, in some areas and in some circumstances, the authorities, when seeking to address the need to get women away from their abusers as soon as possible, do not always move them to specialist centres (emergency centres). In the Basque Country, Cataluña and other regions, because of the shortage of places in such centres, the authorities resort to the use of hotels and boarding houses which are clearly unsuited to the needs of the women in question, who are left there alone, without any kind of accompaniment or support. According to a report by the Basque Ombudsman:

"All professionals consulted, those working in the administrations under examination as well as other experts, agree that hotel accommodation is not ideal or even advisable. However, sometimes, this solution is preferable to the prospect of ‘abandoning’ the woman in an apartment without any protection or support at all for an entire weekend, for example".(100)

Alicia(101) lived in Barcelona with her husband and her father, both of whom used to beat her frequently. During the interview, she showed us a number of scars from knife wounds inflicted on her by her husband. When she left the house where she lived with her small son, she was afraid they would go looking for her and find her. As an emergency solution, she was sent to a hostel, where she was left alone:
"They sent me to a hostel. I was petrified. Every time the doorbell rang I used to lock myself in my room and hide with my son wherever I could, praying that it wouldn’t be them (her father and her husband). I was there for two or three days before they sent me to the centre."

In small towns even access to a hostel is difficult. The Basque Ombudsman’s report refers to the problems which arise when a woman has to leave her home on public holidays, weekends or when social services offices are closed: "To illustrate this point, two incidents occurred this year, one in Vizcaya and the other in Guipuzcoa, the latter on more than one occasion. Without going into the reasons why, there were no free beds in the hostels to which survivors were usually sent, so the women had to go back to the house from which they had fled, or the local police had to find another hotel, with the officer having to pay for it out of his/her own pocket".(102)

In Amnesty International’s opinion, central government should review the distribution and availability of centres throughout Spain in order to correct the current regional shortcomings and imbalances.

Obstacles and grounds for exclusion that affect accessibility
One of the main concerns Amnesty International has been raising is access to services and resources. Setting conditions or specifying particular profiles that hamper women’s access to the resources available to protect their human rights and help them to recover is a violation of specific human rights standards, including the prohibition of discrimination, and flies in the face of the guidelines issued by treaty-monitoring bodies and bodies responsible for human rights promotion and protection.

Amnesty International has gathered information and compared and contrasted what the officials managing the services and resources and the users themselves have to say about the criteria that may be causing certain women to be excluded from them. Some civil servants and officials alluded to the existence of supposed general regulations that deprive certain groups of the right to receive help and protection, as in the case of, for example, undocumented migrant women.
In addition to undocumented migrant women, the organization has learned that there are other groups of women who may encounter obstacles when seeking to access facilities. They include women with sons older than 12 or 13 who wish to keep them with them, women with serious mental health problems, women who are HIV positive or who have AIDS, alcoholics and drug addicts, prostitutes and former prostitutes, women with a police record and, in many cases, women with disabilities and even pregnant women, since there are no facilities equipped to meet their needs. Furthermore, since shelters are deemed to be "social services", based on a model in which the service users are taken on because they are considered to be a group that is suffering material hardship, female survivors of violence who come from social strata that do not fit that particular disadvantaged profile can also encounter barriers.

María(103) arrived from Colombia in 1999. She has a four-year-old daughter with her Spanish partner who, when she was eight months pregnant, beat her up, hitting and even kicking her. She is still not a legal resident in Spain and has had to visit hospital emergency departments with fractures and other injuries on four occasions. Her main fear is that the authorities will grant custody of her daughter to her abuser, something which she was told on several different occasions by workers at the shelter:

"My case was special. Because I was here illegally, I was thrown out of the shelter. Well, I wasn’t exactly thrown out, but I was told I would have to go to a centre for immigrants and that I wasn’t allowed to stay at the shelter. A week went by and they said: Look María, you’ve got to get used to the idea that you have to go to an immigrants’ centre because you can’t stay here, because right now you are not legal and it’s just impossible. I said that I couldn’t go to a centre for immigrants with my daughter because it was like putting a sign up saying: I’m leaving the country, and the father wasn’t going to let his daughter leave with me. So I had to call him and go back to him, I had no other choice. Because, what could I do when they were practically throwing me out?(…) and I swear I had no choice but to call him because it was either that or nothing."

When María was interviewed by Amnesty International, she was still living with her abuser, hoping that he would agree to marry her so that she could acquire legal status. She is undergoing psychological treatment and cannot sleep without medication.

Opañel, a women’s organization, highlighted the lack of real options for women "without papers": "The problem is that, once a woman says: ‘I don’t want to carry on suffering this way, I want to do something, I want to leave’, what options are open to her? Really, whether or not she is given good service, because the option for these women is that they end up in a non-specialist facility and are denied the rights and opportunities other women have and, in the end, they are highly likely to take a step backwards and go back to their partners, because at least there they have a roof over their heads and something to eat. It is very hard for all women, but these women often have no options at all".(104)

In the Basque Country and Castilla La Mancha, the facilities run by official institutions do allow survivors to be admitted regardless of their administrative status, provided that they are on the municipal register. However, the changes made as a result of recent reform of the immigration legislation(105), allowing the police to have direct access to municipal registers(106), could constitute a further obstacle. Amnesty International has already criticized this reform because, by acting as a deterrent to registration, it may have contributed to rendering undocumented migrant women invisible, and as a consequence the abuse they suffer remains unpunished.(107)

Sometimes, the services and resources themselves set and impose conditions and requirements that limit access. According to information obtained by Amnesty International, a wide range of women in Spain may be refused access to crucial resources when they seek protection and help.

Amnesty International has learned that most shelters in Spain refuse entry to women with sons over the age of 12 or 14, depending on the regulations in place at each individual shelter. In many cases, this will have a significant deterrent effect on women who do not wish to be separated from their children. Maribel(108) spent time in a shelter where she was allowed to live with her children, but she said this about the existence of this type of exclusion in other regions: "If my children couldn’t come with me (to the shelter), I really would be out on the streets. It just doesn’t seem fair that they can do this".

Another obstacle to access is the requirement to have filed a complaint. Although this requirement has been called into question because it contravenes the recommendations made by the Council of Europe(109), it is still being implemented. Despite the fact that a document on the entry criteria and requirements to be used by shelters, which was approved at a Sector Conference in September 1999, expressly states that "[i]n no case should an official complaint of the abuse be required"(110) for entry into an emergency centre, in practice, in most cases, for the victim care system to enter into operation, it is indeed a requirement. A person in charge of a sheltered apartment run by the MPDL (Movimiento por la paz, el desarme y la libertad, Movement for Peace, Disarmament and Freedom), a non-governmental organization based in Madrid, told Amnesty International that "for an immigrant woman, especially one without papers, the thought of having to file a complaint in order to enter a shelter can fill her with panic".(111)

Women involved in prostitution and women suffering from drug addiction, alcoholism or some kind of mental illness are not allowed into shelters. Despite the fact that they have been subjected to gender-based violence, there has been no attempt to set up facilities that will address their needs and circumstances and they are usually referred on to centres that have not been designed to take in and protect survivors of gender-based violence, including, on occasion, municipal hostels.

According to Hetaira, a group that defends the rights of prostitutes, in Madrid women involved in prostitution are required to give it up in order to gain access to services and they are referred on to an organization that works to rehabilitate female prostitutes.(112)

Carmen(113) was refused access to the usual shelter facilities in Barcelona because she was a former drug addict and also HIV positive:
"The first thing my social worker told me was that I would only be allowed to stay there for two weeks at the most, and that I should be patient because it was a house where there’s a lot of discipline, because, well I found this out later, it’s a place for female prisoners who are allowed to spend time outside prison. (…) They told me there was no room for me because of my background, because I’ve been in jail, I’m (HIV) positive, and lots of other things so I was turned down at all the centres. They didn’t give me a reason because they were ashamed, but later I was told by the Barcelona Association for Separated and Divorced Women that it was because of my record, because nine-and-a-half years ago I had been a delinquent, or whatever you want to call it, because I’d been in prison, because I’d been a heroin addict, a drug addict. But they should also have taken into account the fact that I’ve been out of that for almost ten years, that I have rehabilitated myself. (...) I’ve managed to carry on with my life and now I’m looking after my son (…) and they would always say: ‘you are going to have all the doors shut in your face’, both the women’s welfare team and the shelter guardian. My pleas were turned down everywhere".

According to information received by Amnesty International, when survivors of gender-based violence are referred on to centres that are part of the Madrid region’s shelter network, they are tested for drugs. If the test is positive, they will not be referred on to the residential facility they have asked to go to.(114) It is worrying that these women are not offered specialist resources which could help them overcome their addiction at the same time.

Women who have been excluded from the shelter network are unlikely to be referred on to another service that can meet their need for protection and help as survivors of gender-based violence. They are sent to facilities that are unequipped to deal with women who have been subjected to this type of abuse. If there are enough places and it is possible, they are referred on to immigrant centres, drug addiction recovery centres, services for women who want to give up prostitution, apartments for inmates of open prisons, accommodation for young mothers run by religious groups and, often, municipal hostels, which are not designed to take in women who have been subjected to violence and are still at risk. Sometimes, the authorities even consider hostels for the homeless to be suitable facilities because, in the absence of staff to look after them in shelters, they are considered to be safer there because they are supervised, despite the fact that their location is well-known.(115)

Amnesty International also learned of cases in which women who had used sheltered accommodation on several occasions had problems in returning to them. Inés(116) was refused entry to the shelter in Huelva because she had already used it several times in the past and had always gone back to her abuser:
"They took me to the youth hostel and I stayed there all night with my son. In the morning, the director of the shelter came to see me with their lawyer and asked me what I thought I was doing, given that they had taken me in I don’t know how many times."

Amnesty International also found that women who are not in a precarious socio-economic situation are also excluded from shelter facilities in many areas.

According to the Federación de Mujeres Separadas y Divorciadas (Spanish Federation of Separated and Divorced Women), "[t]here is a huge contradiction between the theoretical discourse on gender-based violence and the resources available in practice. For example, the theory says, and no-one now disputes it, that gender-based violence affects all social classes and all cultural levels, that it is universal and is inflicted by men on women, regardless of the economic, cultural or any other social circumstances that affect the woman. So now we have to look at what is going on with resources because, according to the theory, the aim should not be to solely address the needs of marginalized groups, all the more so, in my particular area".(117)

According to the same organization, the fact that certain resources, such as emergency centres or shelters, are seen as social services for women without financial resources distorts the nature of the facility:
"The argument is that this (a shelter) is for women who have no means of support. And I understand that. I understand that (…) if you call it a shelter and you think that its only function is to give shelter, it is obvious that someone with money does not need that. But, of course, the fact is that ‘shelter’ is just one part of the programme which this service must offer. It is a part but not the most important part. We do not only have to provide physical safety but we have to make women feel psychologically secure again, we have to give them back the means to put the jigsaw of their shattered personality back together again".(118)

At one emergency centre, Cristina(119) was told that the resources were not designed for people like her:"(The people working at SAVD – the Service for Victims of Domestic Violence) said, ‘Well, file a complaint and you can stay here tonight, although I don’t think you’ll be comfortable here, because you can tell you’re not someone who, how can we put it, well this is for immigrants, a different type of person, you probably won’t fit the profile’."

Amnesty International has also observed that survivors of gender-based violence have to first be processed by social services in order to be able to receive help, advice and other support services for survivors of gender-based violence. Women should have direct access to these, without needing a "referral" from social services.

This barrier is referred to by the Basque Ombudsman. Referring to a telephone helpline covering all three territories of the Basque Country, in only one of which (Guipuzcoa) is it compulsory to go through social services in order to access resources, the report says: "There is a certain sector of the population that is not accustomed to using social services, certain social classes, the wealthier ones, and who think that accessing this type of service will somehow "stigmatize" them. And it is well-known that women in these social strata are not exempt from gender-based violence. This is supported by information provided by those responsible for the 900 helpline for survivors of abuse. Among users of this helpline, faced with the prospect of having to first go through basic social services in order to obtain psychological care, only women from Guipuzcoa have asked to see a private psychologist".(120)

Amnesty International believes that development of the Basic Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures to Tackle Gender-Based Violence should include a review of access to shelter facilities, with access to a type of shelter that meets their needs being guaranteed to all survivors of gender-based violence.

Inappropriate remedies and the poor quality of resources
The Council of Europe calls on States to provide survivors with immediate and comprehensive care services that take a multidisciplinary approach, take account of the abuse suffered and the woman’s current situation, and are geared towards helping her become independent. International instruments and agreements on violence against women point out that resources provided for survivors should avoid secondary victimization.(121)

Amnesty International is concerned that emergency and shelter facilities are not contributing in the way that they should to helping survivors of gender-based violence to become independent. The organization has received reports from survivors, professionals and people responsible for public bodies about the inadequacies of the programmes set up to help survivors and the excessive monitoring of women living in such facilities.

Amnesty International has observed that in Spain survivors have no say over what happens to them. From the information it has received about existing resources, the organization has found that women are rarely involved in managing their stay and in planning their own rehabilitation journey and that it is the decisions of those in charge and the specialist services that prevail.

Many of the testimonies received from women who have used the facilities provided by the authorities show that the level of support and protection they receive depends on the degree of sensitivity and interest shown by the individual whose job it is to provide the services in question.

In addition to observing the paucity of information about services to address basic needs such as mental health, the organization was extremely concerned about the types of treatment and approach used by those whose job it is to help survivors in emergencies facilities and permanent or temporary shelters.

Women interviewed by the organization who had used a variety of shelters in different parts of Spain had very similar complaints to make about them.

According to a report by SAVD, the Service for Victims of Domestic Violence run by Madrid City Council, covering the period between January and August 2003, 20.40 per cent of women "decide to return to their abuser, most of them women whose situation is less serious or who have not yet made a decision to end the relationship with their partner".(122) It is noticeable that the failings and quality of the service itself are not identified as factors that may contribute to women agreeing to go back to their abuser.

The Ombudsman for Andalucía, in his report to the Autonomous Parliament in 2003, had this to say about the dramatic situation faced by many survivors due to the lack of options open to them:
"The recovery of survivors of gender-based violence relies on the implementation of measures to provide them with suitable training, help them enter the labour market and supply them with decent accommodation. We cannot expect them to find enough strength on their own to acquire those basic essentials when they are lacking for the population as a whole. And we know from the complaint files that on more than one occasion their strength has failed them and some of them have had no choice but to go back to the very men who abused them to make sure they had a roof over their head and food for their children. Others (should we say the less fortunate?) have gone down another circuitous route, that of marginalization from society and the labour market. Unfortunately, this is happening in Andalucía (...)".(123)

The National Ombudsman also issued a report containing the following recommendations about the way in which resources for providing help and shelter to survivors should be managed: "With the social resources currently devoted to this issue, the priority should be to reintegrate the women affected back into society and employment in a dignified and independent manner, in particular implementing active policies which enable them to get a job. In short, shelters should be turned into proper centres for the comprehensive recovery of these women".(124)

The Asociación de Asistencia a Mujeres Violadas, a group working to help women who have been raped, explained to Amnesty International what, in their opinion, the current facilities are lacking: "We were asking for emergency safe houses for the first 48 hours and then, immediately afterwards, comprehensive rehabilitation centres, which do not exist. Shelters are currently places where women stay for three or four months, with no psychological therapy to rehabilitate them. A woman who has suffered gender-based violence is a woman who is totally destroyed. The shelters we have at the moment, the official ones, do not have psychologists who can start working with women and their children. In my opinion, it is not long enough. Obviously, they stop them being murdered for the time being but, after three months, these women, in some cases, in most cases, are back on the outside with none of their psychological problems resolved and, more especially, in the case of women who have no profession or resources, with no home and no money".(125)

Over the past few years, minimum requirements have gradually been established for all facilities providing shelter. However, these have focused more on their physical conditions and habitability than on their internal operating structures and procedures. In 1999 the Instituto de la Mujer published a document on the criteria and requirements that shelters should comply with,(126) as established in the 1998-2000 Action Plan against Domestic Violence. The document is meant as a guide to the various administrations and organizations that run programmes to help women who have suffered gender-based violence in the home. Some autonomous communities, such as Andalucía, have published their own regulations concerning the minimum standards expected of such centres.

Although international and regional human rights bodies recommend "that (survivors) should obtain medical and psychological care", in Spain this guarantee is far from being met, especially in regard to psychological help.

Guadalupe(127), told Amnesty International about her experience at a shelter: "The psychologist was on holiday and when her holiday ended she had to have some kind of operation and couldn’t come to work. When I went there, she still hadn’t come back. (...) I talked to a worker who had come in to cover for holidays and it turns out she was working there with us as an instructor but was also a psychologist, so I used to talk to her because I had to get things off my chest to someone, but it wasn’t her responsibility to say: I am here as a psychologist".

The fact that women are in extreme difficulties at the time when they are seeking access to an emergency centre is not usually taken into account in order to provide them with the material and psychological support they need to recover. If they are not offered the support they need and are left in a very precarious situation, they may end up going back to their abuser. Some of the testimonies from the women interviewed by Amnesty International reveal the lack of attention paid to survivors’ most basic needs.

Nadia(128), a woman with two children aged five and six, told us of her experience at the Madrid SAVD: "It is a nice place, it has everything, but it is not suitable for a woman to sleep there with her children, never mind 15 (people), right? There was an empty fridge, I’ll never forget it. Someone would come in and leave one litre of milk for all 16 of us. The first night I was struck by the fact that there wasn’t even any food and, when I arrived there, there wasn’t even a bit of fruit to keep your child quiet while you’re filing a complaint or whatever. (…) I was particularly surprised by what happened with this woman’s baby. He had been crying all evening, until about one or two in the morning. So one of the staff comes up and reprimands this woman, who spoke very little Spanish but she got by all right. She says: ‘This child is making a racket and is not letting anyone sleep’, so the black girl jumps up and says: ‘My son is hungry and I’ve been here for two days and he isn’t getting the food he needs’. So (the staff member) says: ‘Well, you know perfectly well that until tomorrow we cannot give the child anything to eat’. I’ll never forget that, you know (…). They told me that this was only an emergency stay place, trying to justify to me that if you go hungry and there’s no food or anything then that’s normal, because you should actually feel lucky to have been taken in and if you have to go hungry for two days, just put up with it, it could be ten days. (…) I don’t want to stay here, God help me, I’d rather have the beatings, I can’t watch my son go hungry."

After years of physical and psychological abuse, in 2004 Isabel fled from one of her husband’s beatings. With her clothes torn and injuries all over her body, she went to the social services office in her area to ask them to organize for her to enter an emergency shelter on the outskirts of Madrid. Isabel described her arrival at the centre as follows:(129)

"I arrived there with no clothes, no shoes, and my clothes all torn. The first days I didn’t dare, I felt really ashamed, but then I told the girl (in charge), look I need some clothes (...) I spent at least three days with my clothes like that (...) until a girl from Ecuador, who had also been abused, came and when she saw me, she opened her suitcase and offered me some trousers".

Guadalupe(130) tells of her experience of being in a shelter in the following terms: "The shelter, I mean, I didn’t like it much. The food came in dribs and drabs, and there were four nappies for the whole day. We asked them for a packet of wipes and they said we could only use three wipes per day so that one packet would last us a month".

A Muslim woman from Morocco said the following about the food at the shelter in Madrid where she and her children lived for nine months: "The food was very bad and my children had to eat pork. My daughter would ask me whether it was pork and I would say no, that it was something else. The instructor heard me once and said that it wasn’t right, that I shouldn’t be lying to my children".(131)

The document issued by the Instituto de la Mujer specifically states that shelters should have internal regulations establishing rules on how to live together as a group and the rights and obligations of the users. In some centres, such regulations have ended up becoming just a tool for keeping the users under control and in their place. Several of the testimonies talk about a disciplinary climate which, rather than helping to give women autonomy, actually helps to reinforce their experience of having no rights.

Amnesty International is concerned at the perception of women using these services and facilities some professionals running them have. The director of a shelter in Palencia, when interviewed by Amnesty International, stressed the large number of women migrants for whom the facility had to cater and how "expensive these women were." According to her, they were also "terribly demanding", saying that "they want to eat one thing and not another", at which the centre’s social worker nodded in agreement.(132)

The director of the shelter in Ciudad Real told Amnesty International that, in many cases, "what lies behind the way women are treated is tremendous prejudice, overprotection, paterna