The victim had a restraining order: what failed in the misogynistic crime in Figueres?

FigueresL.E., a 33-year-old Honduran woman, was murdered on Tuesday, in broad daylight, in a square in Figueres (Alt Empordà). Allegedly, the stabbed his ex-partner to deathThe atrocious murder has generated deep indignation in Figueres and has led to recriminations against the administration for the victim's lack of protection and the functioning of protocols and risk prevention in gender-based violence. Patrícia Melgar, lead researcher of the gender research group at the University of Girona (UdG), is blunt: "A feminicide is the culmination of a process of violence, and whenever it occurs, it means that everything that precedes it has failed. But the Figueres case is particularly flagrant because it was preceded by assaults within the framework of a violated restraining order," she explains.

Menor: "The case is being analyzed"

In statements to ARA, the Minister of Equality and Feminisms, Eva Menor, assures that the circumstances in which this new case of sexist violence has occurred are being analyzed. "Our responsibility as public servants is to ensure that situations like this do not happen again, to detect why it has happened and how we can avoid new situations of risk for women," she states.

Melgar adds that the judge probably had to release the man because the woman did not appear in court and, according to the law, he could not be held for more hours. "But then we have protection measures to follow up on the case," she concludes. A follow-up that not only affects the aggressor, but also —and just as importantly, if not more so— the victim.

"Why didn't she come forward? We need to consider if she is alone or accompanied, if there is fear, isolation or a complicated administrative situation, if she has access to women's support groups... There are many factors on the table that should have triggered resources." The researcher emphasizes that the focus and responsibility cannot continue to be placed on the victim: "We do not know the circumstances of a person who had already been assaulted on several occasions". 

Finally, the expert in gender-based violence calls for a broader perspective and insists that prevention is not a one-off action, but sustained over time: "Perhaps with a police officer in the square the crime would have been avoided at that moment, but it could also have occurred hours or months later." In this regard, to carry out prevention, Melgar says that it is necessary to execute budgets against gender-based violence, strengthen associations and specialized resources, enhance coordination between services, and increase citizen awareness.

The City Council will act as a popular prosecutor

This Wednesday morning, half a thousand people gathered in front of Figueres City Hall to observe a minute of silence and condemn the crime. The mayor, Jordi Masquef, regretted that the victim's protection system "had failed". "Yesterday's murder should lead us to reflect and ask ourselves why the system failed a person who had requested protection," stated the mayor, who demanded that "the full weight of the law" fall on the perpetrator and lamented "the scourge of misogynistic crimes." In fact, Masquef announced that the council will present itself as a popular accusation against the detainee, in accordance with the Law on Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination of 2020.

The Empordà Feminist Exchange Space regrets feeling "so unprotected" and, in the same vein as the mayor, demands answers to "know what went wrong." "Having all these precedents, this situation should never have happened. It cannot be that measures are taken when it is already too late," lamented the spokesperson for the entity, Judit Romero.