A bill of 4.4 billion euros per year to try to repair the damage caused by sexual violence against boys and girls in Spain. This is what the Educo organization, in collaboration with the Pontificia Comillas University, has calculated how much it costs each year to deal with these cases – those officially known and those hidden.
In Spain, one in six boys, girls or adolescents will experience some form of sexual violence before reaching the age of majority, highlights the work of Educo, which attempts to calculate the obvious and imperceptible impacts that this can have. type of violence. . in the Spanish economy.
The total figure comes from adding the 1.2 billion costs associated with official data – that is, those which arise both from reported cases and from the prevalence of this violence in the population and which constitute ” the tip of the iceberg” – and the estimated figure for damages beyond this tip of the iceberg: around 3 billion euros more, according to the authors of the study.
“The goal is to understand that we need to change the paradigm and start promoting prevention: let’s not just focus on repair, which is very necessary, but rather make efforts to prevent and prevent these cases from happening,” explains Macarena. Céspedes, director of research and advocacy at Educo.
How much does it cost to look away? The costs of sexual violence against children and adolescents is the name of this study, which analyzes the physical, psychological and social impacts arising from this type of attacks on boys and girls, as well as the cost for those affected and for society as a whole.
The analysis distinguishes between cases that involve efficient spending in public administration and those that do not. For example: if a girl or boy indicates that he or she is a victim of sexual violence, a whole series of procedures are initiated which involve certain health tests, the opening of legal proceedings or prison costs (in the case where the aggressor is convicted), etc.
In addition to detected cases, there are also, and this is the “vast majority”, insists the organization, undetected cases which also end up causing expenditure in public administration. For example, that of a child who did not report or, therefore, reported the abuse, but who missed a school year for this reason: this implies losses due to the delay of this year or he may suffer of depression and need treatment.
These expenses are calculated based on the prevalence of violence against minors (around 17.24% of Spaniards will experience some form of sexual violence before the age of 18). In 2023, only 9,185 cases out of the estimated 77,407 cases have been detected.
Social damage
“On the other hand, we tried to approach another set of costs – which we call unincurred – that are difficult to measure. That is to say, damages which are not associated with a specific expense and which it is difficult to assign a precise price because they reflect the impact that child victims of sexual violence have on society. explains Laura Barroso, researcher at the Chair of Children’s Rights at the Pontifical University of Comillas.
These types of expenses are, for example, the loss of opportunities of people who suffered sexual violence during their childhood, absenteeism from work, a certain destruction of wealth, the possible difficulty that this person might have to future to have social relationships.
“There is a whole series of damages which cannot be evaluated simply in monetary terms, but which have a translation in the economy of our country to the extent that having a large percentage of victims of violence sexual abuse during childhood ends up causing long-term social damage,” says the researcher.
More prevention
In the most quantifiable part, the study indicates that 437 million are expenses incurred by detected cases, and 838 million correspond to expenses linked to unreported cases, but with a direct economic impact. If we add to these results the figure of “non-committed” – this impact which is more difficult to measure but which exists – sexual violence against children has a high economic cost of 4,450 billion euros. Or 0.31% of GDP.
Educo and the Pontificia Comillas University seek that these data serve as an impetus to finally urgently deploy all resources so that the Law on the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents against Violence (LOPIVI), approved in 2021, is effective.
Céspedes emphasizes that “if this type of violence was detected quickly, we could stop it, psychologically treat this boy or girl as soon as possible and thus reduce the emotional impact they may suffer in the future. We could also avoid illnesses resulting from this violence (eating disorders, anxiety, depression) or ensure that this boy or girl does not completely detach himself from the educational system.
Although the authors recognize progress, they assure that it will require “a significant budgetary effort” which “will surely be profitable both in monetary terms – now that we know the costs better – and in improving well-being and development of society”. “More than an expense, it will be an investment with a clear return that will benefit the entire territory.”
