Spain's Partido Popular (PP), led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has unveiled a ten-point plan to tackle insecurity, focusing on harsher penalties for repeat sexual aggressors. This comes amid alarming data on violence against women, with nearly three million harassment cases in the past year. The initiative aims to attract female voters while criticizing the PSOE's handling.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, unveiled a comprehensive public safety plan yesterday that includes revisable life imprisonment for repeat rapists and sexual predators who 'hunt' their victims, often minors, via social networks. The proposal also shifts the fight against gender-based violence from the Ministry of Equality to the Ministry of the Interior, criticizing the current government's ineffectiveness and 'false feminism'. Feijóo bases these measures on Ministry of the Interior data showing a 20% rise in overall crimes over the past seven years, with violations up 217%, sexual assaults up 60%, and related homicides up 86%. For instance, registered sexual assaults rose from 8,885 in 2019 to 13,674 in 2024, and penetrative assaults from 3,079 to 5,222.
The ten-point plan also targets repeat minor offenses, proposing sentences of six months to three years for accumulating three thefts or scams, and immediate expulsion for repeat foreign offenders. It includes an anti-squatting law for 24-hour evictions and police improvements like salary equalization and early retirement. These align with Junts' positions, aiming to solidify alliances.
Meanwhile, the Macro-Survey on Violence Against Women, presented by Minister Ana Redondo, shows 2,715,311 women experienced sexual harassment in the past year and 378,907 sexual assaults. Over 1,956,514 have faced physical violence from partners, with 75.9% in multiple instances and 40.2% lasting over five years. Only 16.8% report, citing shame (10.4%), self-blame (5.5%), and fear (8.2%). Offenses against sexual liberty have surged 129.5% since records began and 60% from 2020 to 2024, with rapes quadrupling since 2016.