An 81-year-old man has been arrested in Badajoz for killing a 78-year-old woman.

BarcelonaThe National Police are investigating the death of a 78-year-old woman in Badajoz as another case of gender-based violence. She was beaten by her 81-year-old husband. The man has been arrested and is currently in pretrial detention, accused of murder. According to sources close to the investigation, there are no prior reports of domestic violence filed by the victim against the man, a very common situation: only one in three women murdered by their partner or ex-partner had filed a report of gender-based violence, according to the latest report published by the Judiciary. As a result of the beating, the victim had been hospitalized in Badajoz since last Friday and died yesterday afternoon in the same hospital."We will not normalize this horror and we will continue to dedicate all state resources, legislative, educational... to protect women and eradicate this painful and outrageous violence," said the government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, at the weekly press conference following the council of ministers.

Meanwhile, the National Police also arrested a 40-year-old man in Palma on Monday, accused of killing his 27-year-old partner in February 2025. The case was initially considered a death caused by a drug overdose, but now, following an investigation and forensic evidence, it has been concluded that it was a homicide. This victim brought the total number of femicides in 2025 to 47, according to the Ministry of Equality, which also condemned both murders. Unlike the Badajoz case, this couple was registered in the VioGén system for protection against gender-based violence. The suspect is expected to appear in court tomorrow and will spend the night in jail.

Since the beginning of 2026, just thirteen days ago, four women have been murdered by husbands or ex-partners throughout the country, a figure that rises to 1,346 (if both cases are confirmed) if counting from when official statistics began in 2000. A study by the Catalan Women's Institute concludes that there is a great deal of invisibility surrounding violence against this group, which goes undetected and untreated by specialized resources, which are more focused on younger victims. The normalization of violence, fear, and social and structural barriers explain the low rate of reporting. According to the same report, 45% of older women identified having suffered gender-based violence at some point in their lives, and of these, 15% were victims of ex-partners and another 10% of their current partner.