Families for whom the Generalitat opens an investigation for the abandonment of underage children will have free legal assistance from the moment the administrative procedure begins. This is one of the proposals put forward by the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion within the reform of the child protection system announced a year ago in which professionals from different sectors have participated. In fact, a large part of the demands from the legal sector (lawyers and prosecutors) have been incorporated, which at some point also coincided with affected families in criticizing that the withdrawal of custody is a non-transparent process.

She doesn't know if it was a smell, the feeling of coldness of body and spirit, but on January 24, 2014, Marta Plujà says she almost had to die to be reborn. That day she suffered a stroke that helped her, definitively, to “wake up” and “break the silence” that she had carried since she was very young without even knowing it. She also doesn't know when the sexual assaults and rapes by a relative began or ended. She calculates it based on the aggressor's biography, who is 10 years older and was already of legal age. “I would have been 9, 10, 11 years old,” she says.

Isabela doesn't want to think about what will become of her life if she cannot avail herself of the extraordinary regularization that the Spanish government is to launch in the coming weeks to grant residence permits to half a million foreigners who meet criteria that, at present, are provisional. The decree approved by Pedro Sánchez's executive still has to go through the Council of State to return once more to the council of ministers. Although there are unknowns about how the fine print will turn out, Isabela is sure that hers is an impossible mission because the relevant 10 years have not passed since she completed her sentence to be able to annul her criminal record and, in the draft of the text, any stain on the criminal record is invalidating.

In the WhatsApp group of directors and managers of dependency care centers and services, comments are circulating about the information published in ARA about the fines of 5.2 million euros to geriatric residences. This is explained by the president of DiGESCAD, Andrés Rueda, who laments the “criminalization” of these facilities.

The picture of a Spain with closed borders to immigration paints a picture of an aging society, but also of significant losses, both in population and in the workforce in essential sectors such as care, education, and healthcare. There would also be an inevitable increase in taxes and even the closure of schools, bars, shops, and farms. This almost dystopian scenario answers the following question: what would Spain be like in 2075 if migration flows were reduced by 30%, following the restrictive policies implemented by almost all members of the European Union?

The Sant Cugat del Vallès City Council will tighten registration procedures, requiring in-person registration and implementing more administrative controls and police inspections. The municipal government approved a new directive which, as explained this Tuesday by the town's mayor, Josep Maria Vallès, and deputy mayor, Jordi Puigneró, aims to ensure the census "reflects the reality" of the municipality and prevents "fraud." From now on, applicants for registration over the age of 16 will have to complete the process in person, and third-party authorization documents will no longer be valid. This does not mean that digital procedures will be eliminated, but in these cases, registration will not be immediate, as it is necessary to verify residency. In a press conference, Puigneró insisted that with the new instruction—endorsed by the legal services—the city council is "complying with the state law" that regulates the municipal register, and assured that "people who live in the municipality will be registered, not the State." He indicated that Sant Cugat's intention is to "lead the change" so that municipalities comply with the law. In this regard, both councilors indicated that the City Council is simply reinforcing all controls to prevent a recurrence of the situation. Of the 4,000 relevant registrations, some were cancelled. It is impossible to know how many of these are due to legal fraud, people claiming to reside in the municipality without actually doing so, or "administrative negligence" or "oversight" in not processing the cancellation upon moving to a different location, according to Puigneró. This suggests an attempt to deceive the administration when, for example, there are continuous "registrations and cancellations" of residents at an address, or when an "overcrowding" is detected in a dwelling exceeding the number of people indicated on the occupancy certificate.

Poor medication management, inadequate or insufficient diets, poor hygiene, and failure to guarantee continuous care for residents are just some of the reasons why nursing homes in Catalonia have been sanctioned. Falsifying data, ignoring warnings from the administration, and obstructing inspections and the provision of information to families are also contributing factors. Since 2020, the total amount of fines has reached €5,321,733, according to data provided to ARA by the Department of Social Rights in response to a request submitted through the Catalan government's transparency portal. While the number of sanctioned residences is not specified, with the exception of 2020 and 2024, the number of sanctioning proceedings exceeds one hundred in all other years. However, the department allows residences that have rectified the infractions to invest the fine amount in facility improvements.

Around 3,000 Catalan families are waiting to be allocated social housing, but the high demand and limited supply of apartments available to organizations and government agencies mean that waiting lists continue to grow, even though applicants meet the requirements and have received a favorable decision. Until this solution arrives, most families survive by subletting or even staying in social hostels.

Housing costs are now a financial burden for the vast majority of the Catalan population. More than 80% must dedicate over 30% of their income to rent payments, and up to 36% must set aside half their salary. This additional strain is significantly lower among homeowners with outstanding mortgages, with percentages of 62% and 20%, respectively. These figures come from the report. Housing, the cement of inequalitiesA report published by Oxfam Intermón highlights that the cost of housing has increased by 56% since 2014 without a corresponding rise in wages. The report paints a picture of a society where housing is the primary driver of social inequality. And more than by neighborhood, the imbalance is determined by whether or not renting is involved. Only 15% of renters can meet the Bank of Spain's recommendation to spend less than a third of their income on housing. In contrast, among those with a mortgage, the percentage reaches 80%. According to Raquel Checa, head of Oxfam Intermón's Zero Inequality campaign, renting has become "the great trap," as soaring prices make saving almost impossible.

Andrés Hinajeros's national identity card is atypical in two ways. First, it's permanent—without an expiration date—having been issued twenty years before he turned 70. Second, it doesn't bear his signature. This is a strange concession from the administration to Hinajeros, who has been paralyzed from strength to mobility in his arms and hands since May 1974, when, as a young man in his twenties, he became a paraplegic. He endured four grueling years of hospitalization during which he confesses his only desire was to die. But he has recovered and today says he feels content with life, to the point that he celebrates both his biological birthday and May 17th—which, as he says, "is the day I was reborn." "I'm happy," he says, "I live with quadriplegia, but I've accepted it." In this second phase of his life, he has married, had a son, and owned an orthopedics shop until his retirement. Retirement has led him to focus on obtaining official recognition of his fingerprint. He complains that banks and notaries do not allow him to use his fingertip to sign documents, offering him only the option of bringing two witnesses or appointing a guardian—requirements that make him feel like "a slave who needs masters," even though each fingerprint is unique. This has happened to him recently when making his will. "Many times they tell me to have my wife come and sign, but I am fully capable and they won't let me be free," he laments. The procedure he requests is simple, and he performs it with the help of his wife or the personal assistant who accompanies him for daily tasks: pressing the pad of his thumb into a small box with a pad moistened with blue ink until it is imprinted, and then stamping the fingerprint onto a sheet of paper. He has complained to several organizations, but always receives a negative response. "They tell me they're doing it to protect me, but the bottom line is that if you have a disability, you cease to be a person. They don't see me, they see my wheelchair." Sources at the Notarial Association justify this by citing Article 195 of the Spanish Notarial Regulations, which states that if a person is unable to sign a document, they can delegate their signature to another person or appoint a witness to verify their identity. Hinarejos finds this argument absurd and points out that the imposition of witnesses represents a loss of privacy and autonomy.

She says she was a quiet child, but now, at 24, no one can silence her. Chayma Rachdi Mennana, born in the La Mina neighborhood, is the daughter of a Moroccan couple and has made the defense of diversity and human rights a personal and collective struggle, to the point of working professionally in various organizations. Currently, she is a technician for the Prometeus project, which promotes equal opportunities for teenagers from vulnerable neighborhoods to pursue higher education. She herself was one of those students they supported and motivated until she reached the humanities.

Five people living on the streets have died in Badalona this year. According to the Badalona Acull platform, which confirmed the information to ARA, the latest victim was a homeless man. Badalona DailyA 60-year-old man, a resident of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, was found dead on February 15th inside the car where he had been living in the Puigfred neighborhood. According to the platform, which brings together a dozen social organizations in Badalona, ​​the man had been living in a vehicle since December, parked at number 51 Otger Street, in the Puigfred neighborhood, near the Santa Coloma municipal boundary. The only information the city council, led by Mayor Xavier García Albiol, has provided about the case is that he lived in the neighborhood and that there was a restraining order against him from a woman residing in the city. This latest death brings the total to six, including Raúl, Luis, Jordi, and a fourth man who was also living on the streets but has not yet been identified. Just three days ago, the residents of Badalona remembered them in a tribute ceremony in the Plaza de la Vila, where they also took the opportunity to demand the reopening of the municipal shelter. Can Bofí Vell, which closed in April in 2024, leaving the 45 people who were staying there homeless and the city without any emergency residential services. Since then, six homeless people have died in Badalona.

Public administrations owe money to 39% of social organizations in Catalonia; that is, four out of ten are experiencing payment delays for services or activities they provide. This situation is causing cash flow problems. This is one of the findings of the report. The Yearbook of Employment in the Third Social Sector of Catalonia 2025 The report, prepared by the Confederation, the employers' association for these non-profit organizations, was presented this Wednesday in Barcelona.

As if it were a race against time, social entities set themselves the goal that the Three families evicted in Badalona Three mothers and four children, living in a dilapidated building, were left without a place to stay after the Santa Coloma de Gramanet City Council stopped paying for their Christmas accommodation on Tuesday. The group left the hostel at 11 a.m. on Tuesday with the few belongings they had managed to salvage from their home the day they were evicted from the building on Calderón de la Barca Street in the La Salut neighborhood. At that time, the three women and their children had been told by the municipal government that they could no longer stay at the hostel because the emergency aid was only for three weeks, after which the council would not cover any further expenses. The women's desperation was palpable: "We don't know where we'll spend the night, we need a place to sleep, and we can't be on the street with the children," they lamented.

For years, sociologist Elisa García-Mingo has immersed herself in the study of the machosphere, online communities that spread misogynistic content, whether through ridiculing comments and messages or by asking artificial intelligence to reinvent photographs of women to undress them.

For five years, the Union of Mothers in Functional Diversity has been fighting for the rights of people with disabilities and their caregivers. The group—which brings together mothers and sisters from several generations—denounces systematic mistreatment by the administration due to bureaucracy and a underfunding of services and activitiesHowever, in the last five years they have earned the right to be direct interlocutors with the regional ministry and a major social entity.

A rough noise, the whisper of two voices, or a sliver of music at night, when the building is deserted, puts the neighbors on alert. The real shock comes in broad daylight, when they climb the steps from the fifth to the sixth and final floor of the staircase. There, right in front of the armored door leading to the rooftop, lies a tiny mattress boxed in and a small backpack left by the previous night's occasional residents before leaving while the building still remains silent. At night, they will return quietly, trying to go unnoticed. The scene is in a building in the Sants neighborhood of Barcelona, ​​where residents have decided in a meeting to close off the final section of the staircase with a gate. Between fear and unease, the residents of the fifth floor—who wish to remain anonymous—explain that it isn't always the same people hiding on the top floor, and they suspect that someone must have a key to the front door. In the few months this situation has lasted, there has never been any conflict. The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) confirm that there are no complaints or noteworthy incidents related to these situations. In fact, beyond living on the streets in squares or tents, homelessness is basically an invisible phenomenon, and in most cases, there is coexistence. Neighbors even tend to "take care" of the people sleeping there, bringing them "hot soup or blankets." "A community is created," says Raquel Rico, a homelessness specialist with the Girona City Council and president of the Girona branch of the College of Social Educators of Catalonia (CEESC), who emphasizes the need to "humanize" homeless people. "They feel like garbage, and a simple 'Good morning!' gives them life," the expert states.

Feminism is in retreat. Half of young Spanish men (51.5%) believe that feminism "is only used as a political tool for manipulation and indoctrination," according to the latest Youth and Gender Barometer published this Tuesday by the Fad Youth Foundation. Almost a decade has passed since the emergence of the Me Too movement and the massive demonstrations that placed feminism in its fourth wave, but today the population between 15 and 29 years old identifies as less feminist than their older counterparts.

The Catalan government is considering creating a fund to finance municipalities based on their migrant population, aiming to improve their reception services and reduce their dependence on subsidies. This is one of the proposals from the Committee of Experts for Social Transformation and Innovation (CETIS) of the Department of Social Rights, which presented a report on Monday detailing the situation of the 1.4 million foreigners living in Catalonia, a country with a population of 8 million. The Catalan Fund for Reception and Inclusion seeks to provide Catalan mayors with more tools to better plan for the arrival of immigrants, offering them a fixed budget that goes beyond the current subsidy programs and ad hoc plans that often end without having delivered the desired results because, quite simply, the expected results have been achieved. At the presentation of the report, the Minister of Social Rights, Mònica Martínez Bravo, indicated that the fund could be integrated into the new program for local governments, and that the Generalitat's future budgets, if approved, will include additional funding to support this group, following the agreement between the PSC and Comuns parties. The fund proposal is still just an idea, but it has the backing of the Minister, who declined to specify which public policies or initiatives it might finance. In this regard, she referred to the fact that municipalities are aware of the real "needs" of each town in order to decide how to invest the funds. At a time when far-right groups are fighting policies that promote social cohesion, the Minister stated that the Catalan Government will be "very vigilant in ensuring compliance with the law" in those local councils that attempt to circumvent the law and discriminate against or criminalize migrants.

It took three years for the courts to recognize that Gambian Saynei Kanteh was indeed a minor, after the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office ruled that he was over eighteen and therefore no longer entitled to public protection. He was immediately removed from the guardianship of the Directorate General for Child Welfare (DGAIA, now the DGPPIA) and expelled from the center where he lived. "I knew he wasn't lying, that I was seventeen, and I trusted that sooner or later..." I would have the papers"," he states.