Chance encounters usually occur at the book fair that promotes reading and writing every year. It is a popular event in which walkers of all ages walk through the halls where the booths display their editorial collections for sale. Whether on one side or the other, walking as a public interested in the latest news or signing copies, the truth is that unexpected coincidences occur that go beyond bumping into friends or acquaintances. Coincidentally, I found myself signing copies of my latest book, titled “Gender Violence Explained to Adolescents,” when two boys about 11 years old approached me. They were alone and one put his arm over the other’s shoulder as a sign of camaraderie. They seemed distracted but, as soon as they saw the cover of the book, they stopped dead and the most smiling one touched it with his index finger while spelling out loud: “gender violence.” To my surprise, they did not continue forward, with the stream of people advancing, but rather they retreated to call others who soon reappeared to contemplate that book whose title caught their attention.
It was a strange scene, they turned their faces towards the display as if the books were sweets with the power of attraction. I thought it was a group of schoolchildren from some school who had decided to carry out an extracurricular activity at that facility and I waited for the adult accompanying them to arrive. When she appeared, I couldn’t help but ask her why the group of boys and girls she was in charge of showed such interest. He told me that he belonged to the NGO Save the Children and explained to me that this group of minors were victims of gender violence. Not only did they talk and deal with this type of violence in class, but they had also experienced and suffered it at home. Seeing them emerge and recognize themselves in a term that gives a name to his pain, he helped me spend the afternoon with better spirits and greater confidence in everything that is done for children at risk of social exclusion.
It was as a result of their legislative recognition as victims of gender violence, when specific legal protection measures and specialized services began to be developed for their care. In this framework, it is necessary to have specialized personnel who work in multidisciplinary teams and undertake the evaluation mechanisms periodically to adapt to the variables that may arise, avoiding re-victimization and guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents. The fact is that the chance encounter at the book fair with that group of minors who were victims of gender violence brought to mind that in these first months of 2024, seven minors have been murdered by vicarious violence. A higher figure than in other years and that has raised alarm. A fact that inevitably refers to Organic Law 8/2021, of June 4, on Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents against Gender Violence, to demand that the measures to care for victims are met with the necessary provision. and this dramatic situation can be reversed in an effective and real way.
