Cartagena strengthens protection and safety for victims of gender violence by joining VioGén

Cartagena has formalized its participation in the VioG�n system today, Wednesday, May 7, which means «taking another step in monitoring and protecting victims of gender violence,» according to Mayor Noelia Arroyo. Therefore, the Local Police, which was already acting preventively with the Family Protection Unit, will now take on the monitoring and protection of 318 women, half of the active cases with no perceived, low, or medium risk.

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The mayor has emphasized that «Cartagena is joining VioG�n with the priority commitment to strengthen the safety of victims, support them, and defend them with continuous monitoring. From now on, our Local Police will receive the necessary training and knowledge to meet the needs of victims and accompany them throughout the process.»

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Arroyo, in the presence of the Government Delegate, Mariela Guevara, highlighted the effort of the Local Police force to address public safety in the municipality and the reinforcement of personnel and material resources to provide the service that the residents of Cartagena deserve, while also demanding «the same commitment from the Spanish Government to strengthen and increase the staff of the National Police and Civil Guard, and to start with the same urgency that was declared for the demolition and evacuation of the barracks, the construction of new facilities for the Civil Guard.»

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«Cartagena has special security needs. We have a CATE and a temporary immigrant camp that require an extra workload from the State Security Forces, diverting resources from other key areas such as public safety. We are not asking for the impossible, just to act with the same speed and urgency as was shown to demolish and evacuate the barracks,» the mayor demanded.

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VioG�n Cases

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Regarding the development of the VioG�n protocol, Arroyo explained that the Local Police will take on the monitoring of 50% of the cases of no perceived, low, and medium risk assigned to the Family and Women’s Care Unit (UFAM) of the Cartagena National Police Station and the Centralized Distribution Points of the Guardia Civil companies in the municipality.

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Once selected and trained, the municipal police officers will conduct periodic interviews with the victims and update the information in the system, which uses automated evaluation technology to determine the level of risk and adapt the necessary protection measures. In addition, a Police Coordination Table will be set up, and the protocol will be monitored from the Local Security Committee.

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The mayor, Noelia Arroyo, the Government Delegate in the Region of Murcia, Mariola Guevara, the Chief of Police, Ignacio del Olmo, and the Colonel of the V Zone of the Civil Guard, Francisco Pulido, signed the protocol and operational procedures today between the City Council of Cartagena and the State Security Forces and Corps.

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Attention, Awareness, and Training

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Joining the VioG�n system adds to other initiatives already underway in Cartagena, such as participation in the pilot program ATENPRO 2.0, in coordination with the Ministry of Equality and the FEMP. This system, which uses mobile technology and telelocation, allows women victims to contact a care center at any time. A system that the mayor is particularly familiar with due to her role as president of the FEMP’s Gender Violence Commission.

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Currently, 65 women in Cartagena are using this service, and the city is one of the three selected nationally for the implementation of the new program, along with Alcorc�n and M�stoles.

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From the municipal resources available to women victims and their children, the City Council has a shelter and a CAVI, from which 980 psychological, legal, and social services were provided between January and April.

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Among the awareness and awareness-raising actions, the «If it suffocates you, it’s not love» campaign stands out, which reached over 13,000 high school students in Cartagena last year.

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