Our thanks to Ed Bartlett for this. An English translation takes up the remainder of this blog piece:

“In a cold atmosphere, the attendees marched through the center of the capital carrying banners and chanting slogans in favor of “real equality” and the “defense of human rights” for all victims

Thousands of people gathered in Madrid this Saturday under the slogan “Victims have no gender,” in a demonstration organized by ten associations, including Hazte Oír and Anavid, with the aim of raising awareness about all victims of domestic violence, regardless of sex, age, or sexual orientation. The march, which began at noon in front of the Ministry of Equality and concluded in Plaza de Callao, denounced the institutional exclusion of many victims due to what they consider an ideological interpretation of violence.

In a chilly atmosphere, the participants marched through the city center carrying banners and chanting slogans in favor of “real equality” and the “defense of human rights” for all victims. Along the route, cries of grandparents demanding the right to see their grandchildren could be heard, along with testimonies from parents separated from their children by court rulings they deem unjust, and accounts from those who claim to have been rendered invisible by a system that, they denounce, only recognizes one specific type of victim.

Javier María Pérez Roldán, lawyer and secretary general of Hazte Oír, acted as spokesperson for the organizing group and emphasized the reason for their presence: “We are here to protect the victims who are unprotected.” Also participating in the event were Inma Fernández, journalist and activist for marginalized victims, and Ana Ruiz, spokesperson for Derecho a Vivir (Right to Life). They all agreed on the need to modify the current approach to public policies so that they equitably support those who suffer violence within the family.

Other organizations joined the call, including Comando Libertad, the Association for Children’s Rights Shared Custody Extremadura, the Movement for Real Equality, SIPNA, Non-Normative Trans Police, and the Foundation for Abused Men. Representatives from the international organization Davia, which coordinates similar actions in more than 200 associations across various countries, also participated.

Demonstration “Victims have no gender”, held this Saturday in Madrid. Hazte Oír

Anavid, a non-profit organization that promotes equal rights legislation and greater social awareness of this issue, emphasized that “domestic violence does not discriminate based on sex or status” and that it is essential to guarantee equal institutional protection for all victims. The organization assists women, children, and men who may be victims of assault or false accusations, in a context where, they report, the presumption of innocence is often disregarded.

One of the most repeated slogans during the march was that suffering cannot be categorized according to political or media criteria. In this regard, the organizers denounced the fact that, for electoral or ideological reasons, many victims are silenced or simply ignored. Likewise, the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, was one of the figures most criticized at the march.

Saturday’s demonstration marks another step in the growth of a social movement that questions current protection models and demands a new perspective on the phenomenon of domestic violence. Organizers highlighted the success of the event as evidence that a growing number of citizens reject what they describe as an “ideological construct” that determines which victims deserve recognition and which do not.

“The success of this march demonstrates that more and more people are willing to defend the truth: that no victim is more important than another,” Hazte Oír concluded in its statement. They affirmed that this demand will continue in various initiatives at the national and international levels, with the hope that institutions will commit to providing equitable and inclusive protection for all victims.”

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