Thousands of people have taken to the streets in several places in Spain to demonstrate against intimate partner violence. The reason for the protests is the death of two small children in Tenerife. The girls did not return from a visit to their father in late April.
The parents were divorced and had visitation rights. In their last phone call, the father said his wife would never see her children again. Yesterday it was body of 6-year-old Olivia found on the seabed, her 1-year-old sister Anna is still being sought. It is believed that she also did not survive. The father is missing and is seen as the main suspect in the case.
“Every mother and grandmother feels this sadness with the mother of the sisters, as if it were our own children and grandchildren,” says one of the women in the town hall square of Santa Cruz in Tenerife.
Protests
The event is causing a stir in Spain. In Tenerife, where the family lived, people gathered for a minute of silence yesterday afternoon. “We are here because this has happened too many times. We are here because we need to protect women and children who are victims of violence by men. Enough is enough.”
Also in Barcelona and Madrid, thousands of people took to the streets to mourn and express their anger at gender violence. “I’m here because I’m a mother and wife myself and because I can’t just sit at home and cry.”
–
