He care center for men victims of sexual violence proposed by the President of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayusodoes not currently exist anywhere else in Spain and does not currently find an echo in any other autonomous community, not even in those governed by the same party.
Diaz Ayuso announced this week during the debate on the state of the region that the Community of Madrid will open its doors next year, with an annual investment of 700,000 euros, the first comprehensive care center for male victims of sexual violence, which will welcome professionals from psychology, social work and law for their “complete recovery.”
According to the government of Madrid, this initiative comes from having detected “that Many men have experienced this type of violence, some during childhood, which is why they have consequences, and others in the environment known as “chemsex”, the use of drugs during sexual activity.
Criticisms from the left and the government
The reactions were immediate and immediately the leader of Más Madrid, Manuela Bergerotcondemned Ayuso for “putting the different sexual violences in the same bag” “while reducing the budget of the Global Equality Plan” and the socialist spokesman in the regional parliament, Juan Lobato, described this announcement as “bait” to “bring everyone into the rag”.
After taking note of the announcement, the Minister for Equality, Ana Redondodescribed it as “perversion” and “frivolous event” and the next day he accused the Madrid president of dismantling equality policies and called the proposal “irresponsible, Trumpist and negationist.”
Regional governments do not register
In the rest of the regional executives, the majority of which also come from the PP, The idea has not found any echo for the momentas the different governments have indicated to the delegations of the EFE Agency. The Andalusian Ministry of Social Inclusion, Youth, Family and Equality has stated that this issue is not on the agenda or being considered because it is not necessary since there is no demand. In Aragon, no such centre is planned; In Asturias, they do not have it and nothing similar is proposed; and in the Balearic Islands, the government has limited itself to responding with a short “no”neither exists nor is projected.
The same has been highlighted by the government of the Canary Islands and by the regional executive of Cantabria, where There are no plans to create a similar centre, while the Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities of Castilla y León explained to EFE that in The community also cares about men and women who are victims of sexual violence.However, there are no specific centres.
The Minister of Equality of Castilla-La Mancha, Sara Simón, said that “all the means used to put an end to the attacks are good”, but 98% of rape victims are women and funds should not be withdrawn from the fight against gender-based violence to “divert them to other objectives”.
In Catalonia, where since 2021 there has been a specific department for feminism within the regional executive, the only public service in this area aimed at men is the Servei d’Atenció a Homes (SAH) of Barcelona, but it is aimed at people who “have the will to change and improve their personal relationships to avoid resorting to any type of violence” through sessions and workshops on new masculinities, among other activities and training.
In the case of Ceuta, work has begun on the construction of a reception centre for victims of sexual violence, without specifying whether it will be for men or women.
