Spain's government has officially recognized 53 women as victims of repression in the reformatories run by the Patronato de Protección de la Mujer, established during Franco's dictatorship, for the first time. At an event in Madrid, senior officials apologized and handed out reparation declarations. The Patronato operated from 1941 to 1985.
On Friday, at Madrid's Auditorio Nacional de Música, Spain's government held its first official public recognition event for victims of the Patronato de Protección de la Mujer centers. Presided over by Carmen Polo, this institution operated from 1941 to 1985, confining teenagers deemed 'fallen or at risk of falling,' subjecting them to isolation, forced labor, and harsh conditions in facilities run by religious orders such as the Adoratrices and Oblatas del Santísimo Redentor. The peak number of inmates was in 1961, with 3,360 adolescents held without trial or due process, according to victim accounts and historian Carmen Guillén, author of Redimir y adoctrinar (Crítica).
