THIS week you may have come across statues wearing purple scarves in Valencia or posters depicting flying purple butterflies in Alicante. These are all ahead of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which is tomorrow, Thursday 25 November.
Women’s rights activists will be marking 25N tomorrow with events throughout the region and many participants will be wearing black for mourning or purple, the colour of the feminist movement.
Some cities will hold marches with the largest expected to be in Valencia under the slogan Estem fartes de totes les violències masclistes (We’ve had enough of all violence against women). Marching directly behind these banners will be women who have survived violence, followed by women with disabilities and after them will come others carrying photos of the 68 women who have been killed in the past 12 months as a result of gender violence, followed by the rest of the women participants and finally mixed groups.
Regional Vice President and Minister for Equality, Mónica Oltra, will be joining the march which sets off from the Porta de la Mar at 7pm, passing through the main streets of Colón, Xàtiva and Marqués de Sotelo ending in Plaza del Ayuntamiento, where a manifesto will be read.
Aarón Cano, city Councillor for Civil Protection, said: “We must fight against all types of violence against all women. Gender violence hits at the basic pillars of our democracy. An equal society is a better society.”
In Benidorm a commemorative banner will be hung at the city hall building at 10am, at midday the town radio station Onda Benidorm will broadcast a special programme ‘Feminino Singular’ which will include the reading of a manifesto. A local march against gender violence organised by the Asociacion de Amas de Casa Benidorm (Benidorm Housewives Association) will set off from Plaza de Sus Majestades de España at 6pm.
In Alicante the city has been filled with banners, posters and stickers of butterflies to raise awareness of gender violence. The design of purple and lilac butterflies was the winning entry in a competition run by the city council. It was designed by the young architect Adrián Pastor under the slogan “Volamos Juntas” in Spanish, “Volem Juntes” in Valencian (We fly together).
A total of 100 banners, 1,000 posters for shops, 300 posters on city buses and 200 stickers in taxis have been distributed throughout the city to raise awareness of gender violence among citizens.
Anyone who suspects a case of domestic abuse or is suffering violence themself can call the freephone number 016 which is manned 365 days a year and can be attended in 52 languages. The number leaves no trace on a telephone bill, although erasing it from the call log is recommended.
The Valencia Report 
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