People turned out for demo despite the rain

Many men and women braved the rain to turn out for the demo against domestic violence held in the Borne yesterday afternoon, organised by 27 associations. The demo was held yesterday to mark the World Day against Violence to Women. According to a federation of women's groups which presented a report on domestic violence in Spain, the weapons most used are the fists (to beat, strangle or manhandle the victims). The federation says that 70 women have been killed through domestic violence, and Catalonia is the region with most cases. In 26 cases the women were married, and in 12 the death was caused by the woman's companion. A further eight women were killed by their fiancés. Knives are the second most widely used weapon, used in 21 cases, and three women were hacked to death. Twenty-six of the deaths occurred in the joint home, nine in the home of the victim, and in 36 cases the victim was aged between 15 and 40. It was also revealed that 48 per cent of the cases of domestic violence involved women under the age of 30. Catalonia topped the list with 14 deaths, followed by Valencia with 11, Andalucia (ten), the Canary Islands (6), the Balearics, Galicia, Madrid and Aragon (five), Castille-Leon (four), Murcia (two) and Extremadura, Navarra and Euskadi (one). The celebration of the World Day coincided with reports that a woman was stabbed and seriously injured, allegedly by her husband, in the Basque country, and that the justice department is working on measures which will provide greater support for the victims of violence. Sources said that the changes to the law would make restraining orders more effective. It will also give the courts the right to strip the offending party of child custody. The minister of labour, Eduardo Zaplana, called on battered women to lose their fear and file complaints. A nation-wide campaign against domestic violence, featuring actresses Pastora Vega and Lola Herrera, singer Lolita and journalist Ana Rosa Quintana, will be held in the media between December 2 and 28.