If there is an important date on the feminist calendar, apart from March 8th, it is November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. That is why, thousands of women - around 1,500 according to the Guardia Urbana and about 20,000 according to the organizers - have taken to the streets of Barcelona this Monday to demand the eradication of any form of male violence in a march organized by November Feminist —a space of Ca la Dona—, whose main chosen slogan for this year is “shame and fear, for the aggressors”.
The march, which started at 7:40 p.m. at the intersection of Passeig de Gràcia with Diagonal, has passed through the city center, where the protesters have proclaimed their slogans, blocking traffic, to the beat of a batucada and holding signs such as “freedom ignites with every feminist scream,” “we want to stay alive,” and “not feeling anger is a privilege.”
November Feminist has demanded in its joint manifesto the implementation of comprehensive public policies, as well as the allocation of resources and means that allow all victims to have tools to confront the gender-based violence that women suffer simply for being women, from sexual to digital violence, and including vicarious violence. Additionally, it has called for the creation of protocols and care circuits focused on reparation. Among the demands is also the repeal of the immigration law, a gender perspective in the judicial system, the right to housing, and the regulation of rents, among others.
“We will not let the mud enter our homes again”
This year, the manifesto has featured the voices of different entities and organizations such as Ca la Dona, the domestic workers' union Sindihogar Sindillar, the collective of deaf people FESOCA, migrant organizations like Regularización YA, and Diverse Migrant Women. Additionally, the organizers have dedicated a few words in support and solidarity to the victims of the Valencia cold drop, written by the journalist Thais Bonilla (who could not attend the event), whose father is one of the more than 200 deceased in this tragedy. “We will not allow the mud to enter our homes again.”
A moment from the demonstration on November 25th, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in Barcelona
Before starting the demonstration, women from conflict countries such as Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, and Ukraine have carried out for the first time a reading of speeches to make visible the international struggles that these women endure in their home countries. As oppressed and refugee women, they have claimed that their “cry knows no borders” and the need for the voices of all these women to “not be lost”. “We cannot remain silent in the face of genocide, we need action, compassion is not enough.”
To ensure the safety and diversity of the event, the demonstration has once again had two clearly differentiated blocks, divided by the group Dona Beat, which has accompanied the protesters to the beat of the music. The march has been led by the non-mixed block, exclusively for women, lesbians, trans individuals, and dissident identities, and the mixed block, open to anyone who has wanted to join the route up to the intersection of Passeig de Gràcia with Gran Via.
The figure of Gisèle Pelicot has been seen at the protest
Cases like that of Gisèle Pelicot, the woman who was drugged by her husband so that fifty men could rape her for over a decade, have once again highlighted the structural nature of violence and how it can be perpetrated by those closest to us, reaffirming that it knows no boundaries of class, race, age, or ideology.
The figure of Gisèle has been visible in the protest in the form of posters with her slogan or chants, not only in the protest organized by November Feminist, but also in the one organized this afternoon by various feminist associations and political organizations at another gathering at 6:30 p.m. in Sant Jaume square in Barcelona. Feminism has once again taken to the streets separately in the Catalan city, as in other Spanish cities, with two different calls to action. On one side, there are those who support the diversity and plurality of feminisms (including the trans law), as well as the regulation of prostitution, and on the other, feminists who advocate for the abolition of both prostitution and gender.
Protest signs during the demonstration on November 25th in Barcelona in honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
These latest events have concluded the rally with a tribute to the woman who is causing “shame to change sides,” enduring a tough legal process and championing the feminist struggle with her voice and bravery. That's why the abolitionist feminism movement has announced that they are organizing a gathering to travel to Avignon on December 20 - the last day of the trial - to support Gisèle Pelicot and demand an “end to impunity” and “justice for the victims.”
Femicides at the center of the demands
At the center of the demands are the feminicides—the most extreme form of violence—, a total of 16 women and three minors have been killed in Catalonia so far this year. This number already surpasses all gender-based crimes that occurred throughout 2023, during which up to 15 were recorded.
If we take into account gender-based crimes across all of Spain, the number of murdered women has now risen to 41, following the confirmation of the murder of a 46-year-old woman at the hands of her partner in Estepa (Seville). The presumed case of gender-based violence involving a 15-year-old minor at the hands of her ex-partner, a 17-year-old, in the Alicante town of Orihuela is still pending confirmation.
Since official records have been kept, a total of 1,286 women have lost their lives at the hands of their partners or ex-partners since 2003. The number of orphaned minors due to gender-based violence in Spain has risen to 32 in 2024 and to 465 since 2013.
