January ends with a spike in gender violence murders across Spain
Eight victims died this past month at the hands of their current or ex-partners
The year 2016 has had a tragic first month, due to a spike in the number of women killed in cases of domestic violence.
According to officials, a total of eight women were killed in attacks perpetrated by their current or ex-partners, according to officials.
In past 14 years, only one month of January has seen more such murders, when nine victims were registered in 2006.
But the figure is the same as the number of the victims seen in the first month of 2003, 2011 and 2012, which would suggest that legislation aimed at combating domestic violence passed by Congress in 2004 has had little effect in stopping the number of cases.
Nevertheless, there have been improvements in the way authorities have been helping victims.
More women are calling 016, the telephone number where they can anonymously seek attention. The service, which was launched in 2007, received a record number of 82,000 phone calls last year.
In addition to the eight victims, another case last month saw the death of a 17-month-old infant, who was thrown out of an apartment window by a 30-year-old man after the child’s mother found him trying to sexually abuse the baby.
The 18-year-old mother was hospitalized after being beaten by the aggressor. The suspect was later arrested and is now in custody.
Chronology of cases
January 4: A 43-year-old woman is strangled to death by her partner in Madrid's Hortaleza district.
January 5: A 33-year-old woman is stabbed to death by her partner in Guadalajara.
January 8: The body of a 19-year-old woman is found in a reservoir in Alange (Badajoz).
January 11: Isabel Ana Cebrián, 55, is stabbed to death in Quintanar de la Orden (Toledo). While investigators initially thought robbery was the motive, her husband was arrested a few hours later as the main suspect.
January 13: A 43-year-old woman is killed in Vila-seca (Tarragona).
January 22: A 77-year-old man reportedly kills his 73-year-old wife with a kitchen knife and then takes his own life by repeatedly stabbing himself.
January 23. A 49-year-old woman is strangled by her husband with the cable from a cellphone charger.
January 27: A 45-year-old man beats his 46-year-old wife to death in Avilés (Asturias).
English version by Martin Delfín.
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