A 64-YEAR-OLD woman killed by her ex-husband last Monday in Cordoba is the 16th gender-violence victim in Spain this year, raising concerns over the effectiveness of the country’s VioGen system.

Tulia Ester, a Colombian mother of two, died after her ex-husband attacked her with a machete just hours before their court appearance.

Over the weekend, the victim filed a complaint against her ex-husband. 

They were due in court on Monday, but the suspect killed Ester in her home and barricaded himself before police arrested him.

With her death, she became the 16th victim of gender-based violence in Spain this year and the 32nd woman killed in Cordoba since 1999.

READ MORE: Colombian woman, 64, is hacked to death by her ex just one hour before domestic violence hearing in Andalucia

The total number of domestic violence victims in Spain since 2003 is now at a staggering 1,359 deaths. 

To protect and reduce this amount of victims, the interior ministry created the VioGen system in 2007 – Spain’s national system to monitor and prevent gender-based violence, especially by partners or ex-partners.

VioGen focusses on monitoring cases and risk assessment. 

Every reported case gets a risk level (low, medium, high, extreme) based on factors including threats, past violence and behaviour.

READ MORE: Horror in Andalucia as man ‘murders girlfriend for trying to leave him’ 24 hours after widespread protests for International Day Against Gender Violence

Once authorities register a case, they track it continuously and update risk levels as situations change.

Despite this system, aggressors have killed over 1,000 people since 2007, including 46 last year.

Spanish media particularly criticise how authorities determine risk levels.

Sometimes, authorities assess a case as low or medium risk, but later the aggressor kills the victim or carries out a very serious attack.

The system depends on victims reporting cases, but only 20–30% report the abuse, leaving a huge gap in protection.

While many consider Spain a leader in tackling domestic violence, the problem persists with high numbers and significant flaws in the protection system.

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