CALLS to 016 in Spain have increased by more than 40% during the state of alarm, compared to the same period last year.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Equality, the number of 016 calls nationwide has increased by 41.4% compared to the same period in 2019.

The exact number of calls received stands at 20,732, whereas in 2019 that was 14,662.

This comes as during the first two weeks of the state of alarm alone, the number of 016 calls increased by 18%.

During May alone, the number of calls to the helpline were 8,247, a figure that represents a 38.2% increase compared to the same month in 2019.

Similarly, the number of emails has skyrocketed by 450.5% during that same period compared to last year.

During the state of alarm there have been 589 emails, whereas in 2019 that number was 107.

Between April and May however, the number of emails has decreased by 34.2%, as 101 less have been received.

According to the Government’s delegate against gender violence, Victoria Rosell, as the state of alarm has progressed, there has been a ‘slight decrease’ in calls and emails, but she has stressed that we cannot let our guard down.

016 attends to all victims of domestic violence 24 hours a day and in 52 different languages.

Victims of abuse can also access an immediate support service that is provided via WhatsApp on 682916136 and 682508507.

The WhatsApp service has only been running since March 21 and has received 2,038 texts.

May however saw a decrease, as only 755 texts were sent, compared to 1,061 in April, a decrease of 28.8%.

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