Spanish far-right party boycotts gender violence declaration
  • WORLD

  • 04:23 26 November 2019

Spanish far-right party boycotts gender violence declaration

Spain’s far-right Vox party refused to sign an all-party declaration condemning violence against women on Monday, drawing outrage from civil rights groups and embarrassing its allies in the conservative People’s Party, ONA reports citing Reuters.

Vox’s refusal to sign the declaration by the Madrid city council meant that for the first time since a landmark 2004 law on gender violence, local authorities in the Spanish capital were unable to issue a joint all-party statement.

This month’s national election saw Vox surge to become the third-largest party in the Spanish parliament, more than doubling its number of seats with its mix of nationalist and anti-feminist rhetoric.

Javier Ortega Smith, a member of both Madrid city council and the national parliament said the declaration, on the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, addressed only one side of gender violence.

In a speech greeted by shouts of anger from the audience in the Madrid city hall, he condemned what he described as “denialists” on gender violence, adding: “there are also men who suffer violence from women and are killed by their wives”.

Faig Mahmudov

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