A Mayor’s Words Inflame a Debate Over Spanish Attitudes on Women
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Version 0 of 1. VALLADOLID, Spain — The mayor of this city defended his recent comments about women who make false rape claims as “unfortunate words.” But for many women here, his remarks were a good example of why violence against women remains a serious problem in Spain. Last month, Francisco Javier León de la Riva, the mayor of Valladolid, about 100 miles north of Madrid, told a Spanish radio station that he had qualms about sharing an elevator with a woman, because she could “tear off her bra or skirt and get out screaming that you have tried to assault her.” Women, the mayor also suggested, should be more cautious about when and where they go out rather than expect the police to patrol every city park to protect them. “At 6 in the morning, a woman alone should be careful where she goes,” he said. The comments enraged many women here and across Spain. Scores of women descended on City Hall to protest, making their point by tying up bras to form a chain around the mayor’s office, and demanding his resignation. Though apologetic, the mayor has refused to step down, and another mass demonstration is planned for Thursday. In the United States, the issue of violence against women has received intense attention recently since a video emerged showing Ray Rice, the star running back for the Baltimore Ravens, punching his partner, Janay Palmer Rice, in an elevator. But such violence is a worldwide issue. About 120 million girls and young women under the age of 20 have been raped or sexually assaulted, equivalent to one in 10, according to a recent study by Unicef. In Britain, the issue has recently focused on whether alcohol consumption could influence rape sentencing. Last month, a court overruled a contentious decision to cut the compensation to a woman who was raped in London because she had been drinking that night. For Spain, domestic violence has remained dangerously persistent even after a decade-old campaign to combat it. Eight women were killed last month by their husbands or former partners, the most deadly August in five years, according to the government. “The problem starts with a lack of education about the importance of gender equality; it then turns into insulting comments by politicians against women and ends up with actual violence against women,” said Nina Infante, who represented women’s associations during a plenary vote at Valladolid City Hall on Sept. 2 aimed at censuring the mayor. Despite the outrage provoked by his remarks, Mr. León de la Riva survived the vote thanks to the absolute majority of his conservative Popular Party, and has vowed to stay on, reigniting a debate about sexism and violence against women in Spain. These issues moved up Spain’s political agenda in 2004, when the Socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero came to power promising to shed the country’s reputation as an ultraconservative and male-dominated society. Same-sex marriage was legalized, while rules restricting divorce and abortion were loosened. Mr. Zapatero also made it easier for victims of domestic abuse to seek legal redress: Orders for abusers to stay away from victims were strengthened, and aggressive behavior like issuing death threats was deemed criminal. The conservative government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who ousted the Socialists from power in 2011, has pushed to reverse some of Mr. Zapatero’s changes, notably by drafting a law restricting access to abortion. On Tuesday, after months of vigorous street protests by women’s groups, Mr. Rajoy finally told journalists that he would withdraw the bill, prompting the resignation of his justice minister, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, who had fiercely defended it. When dealing with violence against women, Mr. Rajoy’s government has denied claims by opposition parties that it cut funding and ignored the problem, suggesting instead that the recent killings showed the 2004 legislation was flawed. Susana Camarero, the secretary of state for social services, said recently that she was “ready to listen to all parties in order to improve the law.” As a first step, Ms. Camarero said, the government would introduce a new system to check every three months on women who have complained of domestic violence. A fifth of the women killed in the past three years had reported their aggressors, the authorities say. Married with three children, Mr. León de la Riva, 68, has been Valladolid’s mayor since 1995. Four years ago, he similarly sparked controversy with a remark about the health minister at the time, Leire Pajín, who had started a safe-sex campaign. “Every time I look at her face and those cheeks, I think the same thing, but I can’t tell you what right here,” the mayor said. To some, the mayor simply reflects deep-seated conservatism in a city of 310,000 that was once the capital of the kingdom of Spain. “It’s a city very attached to its traditions, which might explain why some people display an almost feudalistic attitude,” said Luis Muñoz, the owner of a theater, the Carrión. But Teresa Cavanna, a Madrid lawyer who has defended women in violence cases, argued that such views transcend Valladolid and are in fact “very representative of a Spanish political class that is dominated by men, distrusts women and just doesn’t believe in equality.” In May, Miguel Arias Cañete, one of Mr. Rajoy’s ministers, excused his lackluster performance in a television debate against a Socialist politician, Elena Valenciano, by claiming he was worried about displaying male superiority. “Debating against a woman is difficult,” Mr. Arias Cañete said afterward. “If you show intellectual superiority or corner her, it’s sexist.” Women’s associations were angered that the women in Mr. Rajoy’s government then defended Mr. Arias Cañete, who was later nominated by Mr. Rajoy to represent Spain in the new European Commission. In Valladolid, when the City Hall assembly convened on Sept. 2, the session was regularly interrupted by citizens who chanted “resignation” from the packed public gallery. Some women held posters denouncing the mayor, while one hung a bra from the balustrade in protest. Mr. León de la Riva opened the session by reading out a list of recently killed women, saying he was “fully aware” of the violence problem. “I have always promoted policies of equality between men and women,” he said. The mayor then sat in silence as opposition lawmakers called for his removal. “You are just the way you appear, a textbook machist and misogynist,” Óscar Puente Santiago, a Socialist, told the mayor. However, conservative lawmakers defended their mayor, also underlining Valladolid’s economic improvement under his tenure — a view shared by many citizens. “He’s been mayor for a long time because he’s done a lot of good for Valladolid,” said Ángel Álvarez Montaña, the president of the neighbors’ association of El Parque la Rondilla, a Valladolid district. “Whatever we’ve asked for the neighborhood, we’ve received — sooner or later.” At a news conference afterward, the mayor did not elaborate on why he was worried about sharing an elevator with a woman. But he offered instead a different take on why he had upset his female constituency. “If a politician spends his time with his door locked and without talking to anybody, it’s a lot harder to make mistakes,” he said. “If a politician spends his time on the streets and doesn’t have taboo topics, it’s a lot easier to make mistakes.” In the future, Mr. León de la Riva added, “I will stick to the topics of the moment. If I have to speak about theater, I will speak only about theater.” |