Europe
'must end domestic abuse' Spain's prime minister has launched a campaign against domestic violence in Europe, calling it one of the worst forms of human rights violations. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was speaking to hundreds of delegates from the Council of Europe's member states. According to the Council, almost a quarter of women in Europe have suffered physical or sexual attack. Mr Zapatero said there could be no room for such abuse and that women must not feel abandoned by society. "Fear, pain and humiliation are incompatible with a project for a decent society," Mr Zapatero said. Breaking the silence In Spain, some two million women say they have been the victims of psychological or physical abuse. Mr Zapatero has described domestic violence as Spain's "greatest national disgrace". The Council of Europe has called for increased awareness of the problem of domestic violence. It says "risk factors", including a patriarchal culture, gender stereotypes and low income, must be addressed. The Council of Europe says that stopping the complicit silence surrounding domestic abuse is one of the campaign's main goals. "Women suffering from domestic violence are not only victims of abuse, they are also victims of silence, victims of indifference and victims of neglect," said Terry Davis, the Council's Secretary General. The conference opened with a minute's silence for Spain's most recent victim of domestic violence, a 43-year-old woman from Seville, who was stabbed to death over the weekend by her ex-husband. Spain has made efforts to tackle domestic violence, passing a law in 2004 which introduced tougher penalties for men found guilty of such offences. Special courts have also been set up and the number of police officers trained to work with abused women has been increased by 90%. Spain
hits back at abuse culture 
<<Amnesty is campaigning against domestic violence in Spain New laws designed to curb domestic violence are currently passing through the Spanish parliament. The BBC World Service's Everywoman programme examines why the government is tackling the issue now. In Spain, the fight against domestic violence has become one of the new government's key priorities, with policies designed to tackle abusers head on. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has made fighting domestic violence his main priority after terrorism. Soledad Murillo, Spain's Secretary of State for Women's Affairs, told Everywoman the laws had been fashioned in response to what victims had said they needed. "Women's groups were instrumental in deciding this new law, which makes the judicial process more effective," she said. "It gives police and social services more power to stop the suspected aggressor; it gives more power to those who come into contact with the victims of violence, so that they feel less alone. "This is a law designed by women, for women." Property of men Although statistics for domestic violence are not worse in Spain than anywhere else in Europe, it is only recently that Spaniards have started talking about the abuse.
Although modern Spain is more liberal, violence remains a problem - and it is this that has caused the Spanish government to act. "If I woke him in the morning, he beat me; if he woke me while I was sleeping, he raped me," Fidella Ramiron (not her real name) - told Everywoman. "I preferred to wake him." Ms Ramiron has been in hiding from her abusive husband for 20 years. She described her injuries, saying she was usually covered in bruises, especially around her eyes. "He was always hitting me," she added. "I never knew what for. It didn't matter." And she added that she felt she had been failed by the Spanish system. "I can never use my real name," she added.
But others feel that simply toughening the law is not enough. Dr Marian diSadi, a doctor at an emergency ward in a Madrid hospital, stressed that it was also important that attitudes were changed. "We doctors feel very frustrated," she said. "We can't help the victims of domestic violence who often don't want to report their partners. "We can treat them physically, but it's very hard to separate the victim from her man. It's hard, and a painful journey." Changing attitudes Much of Mr Zapatero's early legislation has focused on making equality an emblem of his period in office. Among the new laws has been the introduction of equality classes into all state schools. He has also selected as many women in his government as men. Meanwhile, the success of the award-winning Spanish film Te Doy Mis Ojos (Take My Eyes) - which has domestic violence as its central subject - has indicated that the attitude towards women is now changing fast, especially among the young.
"I guess we are late with many things relative to Europe. There was a long period during Franco when this was private business, and nobody could interfere. "There was the heavy weight of the church, saying 'women, stay with your man and keep going, whatever happens'." But Luis Tosar, the film's male star, added that it would take a long time before the attitude of some Spanish men would be completely changed. "We have traditions that go back centuries," he said. "Spain has always been that way. The concept of the man being macho, head of the family, is still very much the way it is here. I think we are in a process of change that will take quite some time." Ms Bollain said that she agreed. "It's in our saints, it's in our songs, it's in our jokes - if a man kills a woman, you still hear a comments that she must have done something to him. "Justification for violence against women is so deep in our culture." New man tackles Spanish machismo By
Katya Adler Spanish men, portrayed as insensitive, insufferable and even aggressive towards women, have traditionally been the butt of macho male jokes. But the new Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, does not find the situation very funny. He recently described Spain's domestic violence record as the country's "worst shame" and an "unacceptable evil". On Friday his government made a draft "gender violence" law the very first of the not even week-old administration. It aims to bring new domestic violence legislation before parliament by the summer. At least one woman dies every week in Spain at the hands of her partner. Thousands stay in abusive relationships because, they say, there is nowhere else to go. Sadly, these figures are not uncommon in Europe. But there is a growing awareness here of the problem. Democracy in Spain is only 25-years-old. Before that, during the 40-year-long dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, domestic violence was not considered a crime. What it was, though, was taboo. There is a Spanish phrase, using the feminine article that says: "I broke it because it was mine". This attitude towards women is now changing fast, especially among the young. The Spanish Oscars, the Goyas, were won this year by a popular film called I Give You My Eyes, about domestic violence. Cases of domestic abuse feature on the evening news almost daily and Spain's TV chat shows, which are on morning, noon and night, regularly discuss the issue. Public sentiment Earlier this year, Roman Catholic bishops caused an outcry with a report suggesting that sexual liberation since the 1960s had led to more men beating their wives. Although the majority of Spaniards still describe themselves as Catholic, Church attendance levels are dwindling. So Mr Zapatero was certainly tapping into public sentiment when, just a few hours after being sworn in as Spain's new premier, he visited a woman in hospital who had been beaten and burned by her husband, as well as victims of the 11 March train attacks who were on the same ward.
The problem appears to be the implementation of the laws it passed, such as the enforcement of restraining orders, for example. This is something the new government wants to improve. Women here have also complained that the Spanish judiciary is ruled by conservative, older men who, they say, often rule against women's interests. And there is a growing demand for treatment programmes for the abusers. At the moment there are only two institutes in Spain that work with violent men to try to change their behaviour. Women's image According to the new Spanish government the country's problem is a wider one, concerning not just the way abusers treat women but the image of women in Spanish society in general. The Spanish Minister for Work and Social Affairs, Jesus Caldera, says Spain needs a general "change in behaviour towards women", which should be impressed upon school children through the study of "ethics and equality". He has called for a debate on the way women are portrayed in Spanish advertisements and has announced the government's intention to break women's "chains of dependence" on their male counterparts by improving employment and housing provisions for women. Mr Zapatero has promised to make equality between the sexes "an emblematic task". And where better to start than within his own cabinet? Eight of the 16 posts are occupied by women, including Spain's first ever female deputy prime minister. Mr Zapatero says his government will initiate a system of tax and other incentives to encourage Spanish businesses to employ more women, especially at managerial level. At the moment the proportion of women on boards of directors does not reach 10% - and is less than 2% in the biggest companies on the Spanish stock exchange. The government wants to ensure sexual equality from the lowest to the highest echelons of Spanish society. Royal reform It has proposed changing the constitution as regards the succession to the Spanish throne, where men are favoured over women. Any new legislation would not come into effect until the next generation, however.
Other proposed changes in gender legislation include the official recognition of homosexual partnerships (68% of Spaniards said in a Gallup poll last year that they were in favour of gay marriages), and debating the rights of gay couples to adopt children. Mr Zapatero also intends to alter radically Spain's abortion laws which, he says, are completely outdated. Abortion in Spain is illegal except in three cases: If a woman has a deformed foetus, if she has been raped or if her physical or mental health is in danger. The way Spanish women get around the situation is to sign a piece of paper testifying that if they do not abort, they will suffer psychologically. The new government wants to legalise abortion in all cases for the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. The public response to these proposed changes has generally been favourable. It is interesting to note that more women than men voted for Mr Zapatero's Socialists. The gay community and Spanish students also favoured the Socialists over the previous conservative administration. Yet the appetite for dramatic social change in Spain in questionable. Surprise result The Socialist party had not been predicted an election victory in the public opinion polls. Spaniards remains divided over whether the Socialists, taken by surprise by the election results, are actually ready to govern. Significantly, election day came just 72 hours after the multiple train bombings in Madrid which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800 others. Many people said they used their vote less in favour of the Socialists, than against the former conservative government. Mr Zapatero's government also faces another obstacle in its ambitious reform agenda. The election left it short of a parliamentary majority so it will have to look for outside political support when passing new legislation. One thing is sure, though. Sceptical or not, most Spaniards want this government to succeed. After these last weeks of terror and of tears, they say, Spain needs some stability and a fresh start.
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He was always hitting me - I never knew what for, it didn't
matter 
