Simon Hunter
A SERIES of domestic violence murders of women in Spain has turned December into the month with the highest number of such deaths this year, for a total of eight.
The last month of the year is also the third-worst since records began, only exceeded by 2008 and 2015, when there were 10 and 11, respectively. The total number of domestic violence deaths for the year so far currently stands at 46.
However, the final death toll could still get worse. The killing of a woman in Matamala De Almazán in Soria province on Christmas Eve could still be confirmed as a domestic violence killing, as could the murder of a woman at the hands of her partner in Bilbao on Wednesday morning.
What’s more, late on Wednesday a 37-year-old man in Madrid is alleged to have killed the daughter of his former partner, stabbing the 20-year-old to death.
In a village in Toledo province, meanwhile, a 52-year-old man is alleged to have murdered his ex-wife. The 32-year-old woman was heavily pregnant with her new partner’s child, and was reportedly killed in front of the 14-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son she had with her ex-husband.
Taking these killings into account, December 2022 is likely to be the joint-worst month for domestic violence deaths on record.
The uptick in cases over the Christmas period prompted the Equality Minister to hold an emergency meeting.
‘All of the institutions must work without rest to anticipate any possible situation,’ said the secretary of state for equality and gender violence, Angela Rodriguez, after the meeting on Wednesday. ‘We want to call on society to be extremely alert, and not ignore any indications [of possible violence] that may be around us.’
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