Barcelona launches the first unit of prosecutors specializing in vulnerable victims in the State

BarcelonaThe Barcelona Prosecutor's Office has launched a specialized vulnerability unit, the first of its kind in Spain. Five prosecutors will handle cases where the victims are minors or vulnerable for other reasons, interpreting this concept broadly: they will address cases affecting children, the elderly, or people with disabilities, but also those involving "situational vulnerability," such as power imbalances or victims of serious crimes like sexual assault. The focus will be on preventing the revictimization of those affected.

Since January 1st, this newly created unit has already received 200 cases, primarily involving sexual or domestic violence against minors, and also They have been tasked with investigating the allegations against Ramon Flecha, emeritus professor at the University of Barcelona.

This new section specializing in vulnerable individuals is headed by prosecutor Fèlix Martín, who until now handled jury trials and led, among others, the prosecution for the murder of the Guardia Urbana (Barcelona's municipal police). Martín is the only prosecutor who will dedicate himself exclusively to this section, while the others will combine their new work with their existing duties. The second-in-command is prosecutor Elisabet Jiménez, data protection officer and collaborator with the cybercrime section, who presided over the trial of Dani Alves on sexual assault charges. The team is completed by prosecutors Laura Rodríguez, who works in investigative cases, and Rocío Pintor, formerly dedicated to environmental and victim protection cases. The fifth position is a reinforcement that will be added on Monday. Initially, they will handle all cases occurring after December 31st, but they could also take on earlier cases if they are considered particularly significant.

Martín has argued that this new unit represents "a fundamental change": "[We've moved] from a model focused solely on the crime to one that places the victim at the center." This new specialized section was created as a result of the organizational change implemented The efficiency law, which has established a new specialty in the courts focused on prosecuting violence against children Separate from the existing Juvenile Prosecutor's Office, which handles cases where the offender is under 18, the new unit goes further. It will take on cases where a minor is the victim of a crime committed by an adult, as well as other cases involving vulnerable victims. "The mere fact of facing criminal proceedings cannot cause suffering to the victim," said Martín. Currently, the Barcelona Prosecutor's Office is the only one in Spain with this specialization, which contradicts a decree issued two days ago by the Attorney General, Teresa Peramato. Peramato's decree assigned sexual offenses against girls and adolescents to the prosecutor's offices specializing in violence against women, rather than those specializing in violence against children. The Barcelona Prosecutor's Office will ask the Attorney General whether this applies to all prosecutor's offices in Spain or only to those in cities that lack specialized courts for violence against minors.

"Let the process be adapted to the victim"

The prosecutor also asserted that "it shouldn't be the victim who adapts to the process, but the process to the victim." This new group will pay particular attention to aspects such as how victims are questioned and how many times they must testify from the initial report until the end of the legal proceedings. In the case of minor victims, it is common practice to take advance statements through psychologists and educators—300 were conducted last year at the Barnahus facilities in Barcelona—so that the child does not have to appear in court. This group of prosecutors will also handle cases in which the perpetrator has "a complex criminological profile." For example, in cases of serial offenders. Also, in cases where the defendant has a mental disorder. Martín explained that in many cases the mental illness of the accused goes unnoticed by the system until they are imprisoned, and that it would be better to detect it earlier to take it into account when deciding on precautionary measures and because it may lead to mitigating or exonerating circumstances in the sentence.