Police arrest man for sexual assault after victim makes international distress call

A woman in Burgos managed to report that she was being sexually assaulted thanks to the international distress signal for victims of gender-based violence (made by bending the thumb of an open hand and then closing it, forming a fist). This gesture prompted another woman to notice the situation and notify the National Police, who ultimately arrested the attacker.

The incident occurred at the end of June, during the Burgos patron saint festivities. The alleged attacker and four of his friends approached a woman in a leisure area of the city. They intimidated her and insisted on forcibly escorting her home, according to the National Police, in a "persistent" manner. This generated a state of "fear and anxiety" in the victim, both due to the tone of the attack and the number of men present.

Four of the men reportedly left, leaving the victim and the man, who would later be arrested, alone. At that moment, the man began mocking her, although she reiterated that she wanted nothing to do with him. To avoid the attacker, she said she needed to go to the bathroom. The Burgos University Hospital was nearby, and they both went to the emergency room. It was there that the victim took the opportunity to make the international distress signal, without him seeing her.

At the hospital, a woman recognized the gesture and alerted the hospital's security team. Shortly after, several police officers arrived at the scene to arrest the man, accused of sexual assault. He was taken to court, and the judge ordered his release pending trial.

A signal devised during the pandemic.

The international distress signal, which has gone around the world, was devised in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic,when the harshest confinement forced us to stay locked up at homeA Canadian women's foundation promoted it so that victims of domestic violence who were forced to live with their abuser during lockdown could use it: the signal was intended to serve as a way to call for help. It has since spread and has now proven useful again.

Another way to report violence It's the phrase "What's up Angela?", which is the password a woman can use to alert nightclub professionals when she's uncomfortable with her company or has been harassed. It's an initiative of industry associations such as Fecasarm and International Nightlife.