20 years of Spain's gender violence law: 71 murders in 2003

Twenty years of Spain's gender violence law: 71 and 46 murders

On 28 December 2004, Congress unanimously approved the Ley de Medidas de Protección Integral contra la Violencia de Género (Spain's comprehensive law against gender violence). It was the first bill the government sent to parliament. Two decades on, the consensus has broken down and the record remains disputed: 71 women murdered in 2003, 46 in 2024 up to that point. The law took sens out of the domestic sphere, according to its defenders. Its critics argue it enshrined inequality before the law.

What the law created in practice

The law was pioneering in Europe and almost worldwide. In practice it led to the creation of specialist violence courts, training for judges, lawyers and prosecutors, and protection measures such as shelters and advice centres so women could learn their rights. Mariví Monteserín, a former PSOE MP, recalled this among the arguments defending the legislation.

A year before its approval, in 2003, the victim registry had been set up. That same year, 71 women were murdered. The law arrived with the backing of all parties. The PP voted in favour, as did the PSOE. That unanimous support is a consensus rarely repeated since.

Why is the drop in figures questioned?

The most repeated criticism is stagnation. In 2024, 46 women were murdered up to that point in the year. Some argue the figure has settled around fifty a year, before and after the law, and conclude that the legislation has not reduced murders.

Add to that the cost in male lives. The debate recounts the suicide of a man after a conflictive separation and claims there have been many male suicides. It also points to public spending on courses, studies and registries that, from that perspective, have not moved a single indicator.

The constitutional objection that was never resolved

The law was taken to the Constitutional Court. It was upheld on the grounds that it was exceptional. For critics, that amounts to endorsing sens-based discrimination contrary to Article 14 of the Constitution. The matter was also raised before European bodies, which declared themselves incompetent as it was an internal affair.

The most debated point is the reversal of the burden of proof. It is argued that in these courts men can never be victims, because the law itself would prevent it. False reports and threats to take children away are also mentioned as forms of violence the law does not cover. The response from the other side is that not all women file false reports, just as not all men are abusers.

The political front: from unanimity to reform

Twenty years on, the consensus has fragmented. Juan García Gallardo calls the law an "anomaly" in the civilised world: it would not exist in Sweden, Denmark, Germany or France. Spain would be, according to that argument, the only country with courts exclusively for men.

At the same time, a possible reform is being floated. Some see that move as a mere facelift to toughen the law without repealing it.

What hasn't changed

Two decades on, the number of women murdered remains in the same order of magnitude. The law created specialist courts, training and protection measures, but the figures for women murdered remain broadly similar. 71 in 2003, 46 in 2024.