As you know, today (and in the space of several hours) Juana Rivas has turned herself in to justice, and has been granted provisional liberty; made the latter that has made me sigh in relief. But I am not going to delve into it because what we are talking about in this post is about those daughters and sons, invisible victims of the gender violence, which are sometimes considered as an extension of their mothers, and Violence is also exerted on them aimed at manipulation and suffering. of this.
As of last June 6 minors had been killed by their parents, as the culmination of a series of episodes of abuse and violence; In some cases, the abuser uses the permits granted in the visitation regime (or uses joint custody) to end the lives of his own children. It is estimated that each year 840000 daughters and sons of abused women suffer the consequences of gender-based violence (540000 directly). In fact in the State Pact against Gender Violence that was signed in the month of July, they are already included as measures the abolition of joint custody for the abused, the visitation regime, and visits to the prison so that the children see the parent.
It is also proposed to suppress mitigating sentences for abuse (reparation of damage or confession of the crime). We have said on occasion that Gender Violence (macho violence, if you want) exists, and it is a highly worrisome phenomenon that manifests itself in different ways. The most extreme is femicide, and we have updated data today, which number the victims (including children of women who suffer this violence) at 71 people. Neither is it to look the other way, nor to put up with jokes, jokes in bad taste, or memes questioning the veracity of the facts.
Many of the women victims do not report the events (around 80%) for different reasons, and precisely another of the measures of the aforementioned State Pact is that "the condition of victim will be extended to women who have not yet filed a criminal complaint "In this way, their access to protection resources and comprehensive care will be possible.
Vicarious Violence: when the abuser harms the children as secondary victims.
The children shared in common, and sometimes the children that the woman brings from previous partners, are 'used' as instruments to mistreat the mother; in these cases they have a sad double condition: victims of gender violence and victims of child abuse. It is an issue that must become relevant, and not only from a legal point of view (focusing on the "best interests of the minor", as we have been reading about the two children of Juana Rivas), but because these creatures will suffer sequels and marks for life, and they will require social and / or psychological care, in order to address and prevent different disorders. Once again, a future development of the Pact against Gender Violence would establish prevention as an effective detection tool
Patricia hernandez A year ago he came of age, and leads the association "Advance without Fear", he has seen how his mother was mistreated by his father, and has felt fear on countless occasions. She knows that girls and boys are not clear in these situations: they have no one to ask for help, and they are not given enough attention or support. That is why she has proposed to be the voice of other girls and boys, that is why she fights so that the judicial system really works for these victims. In his words: "An abuser will never be a good father."
The SAP lie.
The Parental Alienation Syndrome is invented, or rather: does not exist and is not accepted by world classifications of mental disorders; is defended by some scientists and lawyers, and understood as the idea that one parent (mostly the mother) puts the children against the other (mostly the father). Today it is accepted in the courts as a diagnostic category, according to the forensic doctor Miguel Llorente, but it should not be like that, as long as it is not accepted by the scientific community. The SAP has been used to obtain rights, custody or visits by parents. And by the way, predictably in Catalonia will be eliminated, which is good news.
We live in a society with cultural structures that perpetuate patriarchy, and that may be influencing the judicial system: what victims of gender violence need is greater social awareness and more rigor in the approach to each of the cases, adapting the mechanisms to each one of the cases, and adequately protecting the victims.
The best interests of the minor.
The main reason that children are cared for is that They are people in development, very vulnerable and in a situation of vulnerability; they and they are direct victims (direct aggressions) and indirect (assisting in the abuse suffered by the mother). It seems clear that it will affect them negatively: from normalization of violence and unequal relationships, to academic delay, through socialization problems and various emotional, sleeping and eating disorders.