Mojácar Council and their Local Police Gender Violence Unit recently held a first public awareness-raising session as part of their work with the Ministry of the Interior to combat gender-based violence.

It was held at the town´s Centro de Usos Múltiples, with another date scheduled for April 26th and, was attended by the Mayor, Rosmari Cano, who officially opened the event.

The Mayor highlighted the work that Mojácar had carried out in this area since 2011, when she signed collaboration agreements in Granada that incorporated the town into the Ministry of the Interior’s Integral System. This made Mojácar a pioneering municipality with the creation of its own Gender Violence Unit, which resulted in the Menina prize in 2016, with the local Unit being the first force in Andalucía to receive it. She also went on to stress the importance of prevention and awareness as part of school education, starting with the very youngest pupils.

The objectives for this event focused on nurturing an active awareness of the role of women from both a personal and group viewpoint.  As conference leader, Alejando Montero Madej, a Psychology graduate from Granada University, divided the talks into two different discussion areas.  The first looked at the values that are passed onto the young and the role that today’s culture plays in their behaviour, with the second focusing on the different aspects of gender violence and improvement strategies for relationships, jealousy, communication amongst others.

He specifically stressed the importance of making complaints in cases of mistreatment as a preventive measure against the rise in the number of women’s deaths due to this cause saying, “without a formal complaint, you cannot access the available range of security and protection.”

As part of the event, the young group “Última Fusión” from the Natalia López Academy performed a dance of their own choreography which interpreted their rejection of gender violence, showing their support for this municipal initiative.

The talk attracted a large audience, among which was the town’s Social Affairs Councillor, Raquel Belmonte, along with other members of the Council and local Corporation. The Council’s intense awareness-raising campaign and, the dissemination of information amongst townspeople and schools is all part of the excellent work carried out within the VioGen programme by the Gender Violence Unit of Mojácar’s Local Police.