The implementation of guidance, care and prevention devices in the area of violence against women, as well as the creation of a network of monitors in the different territories, are some of the measures that the Citizen Mayor’s Office has taken to combat violence. gender violence.
In a strong and clear statement, the Citizen Mayor’s Office of Valparaíso has expressed during the last Municipal Council its strong condemnation of violence against women, especially after the recent femicide of Daniela Silva Alvarez, a resident of the commune, who on April 22 She was found at her home in Cerro Alegre with cutting injuries to her upper extremities and thorax, according to the Homicide Brigade of the Valparaíso Investigative Police. This tragedy adds to the worrying figures of gender violence in Chile, which in the year 2024 have recorded 16 completed femicides and 84 frustrated ones, with 2 of the completed ones and 6 of the frustrated ones committed in the Valparaíso Region.
The municipality of Valparaíso, in its commitment to the fight against gender violence, has taken concrete measures. At the beginning of March, she filed a complaint for an alleged femicide in Laguna Verde, highlighting the importance of investigating and prosecuting crimes associated with extreme violence against women. Likewise, the local government has taken actions around the promotion and guarantee of the right to a life free of violence, contributing to the promotion of Common Rights that allow reversing the inequalities and inequities of women; through the gender approach and good living, according to the guidelines of the 2020-2030 Community Development Plan, and the strategic objectives of the Gender Directorate: Women and Diversities.
On the other hand, regarding the number of complaints, according to data from the Undersecretary of Crime Prevention, there is an annual average of 75,968 complaints in the context of VIF against women, of which 5,652 belong to the Valparaíso Region and 1,193 to the Commune of Valparaíso. In this sense, the region is among the first three with the highest rates of violence against women and sexual-gender diversities.
In this regard, the mayor of Valparaíso, Jorge Sharp, highlighted the work carried out by the municipality to assist women victims of violence and eradicate these acts. “In a Municipal Council session, the person in charge of the Gender Directorate, Tania Madriaga, was able to explain the very serious situation that took place in our city a couple of days ago, with a femicide that also resulted in a suicide on the part of the perpetrator of that despicable fact. In the municipality of Valparaíso we are working hard to provide comprehensive care and support to all women and diversities who require it. It seemed essential to be able to expose this issue, because I think making it invisible is a mistake and we are going to continue working very hard from the Gender Directorate in this sense.”
Meanwhile, Tania Madriaga, Head of the Gender Directorate: Women and Diversities, highlighted that from the Directorate “we presented to the Municipal Council the actions of the technical legal context, which frames a regrettable situation that we have experienced as a city: a new femicide, the first of this year that is already typified by Sernameg, so we wanted the Council and the residents of Valparaíso to be very informed about how we proceed in these cases, and how we have to move forward to prevent this type of situations in the future. ”.
Measures to eradicate gender violence in Valparaíso
The Citizen Mayor’s Office has implemented guidance, care and prevention devices in the area of violence against women, in collaboration with the National Service for Women and Gender Equality. These programs include the Women’s Center, the Specialized Care Center for Gender Violence, the Transitional Residence and the Prevention of Gender Violence, available to women in the commune of Valparaíso through the Gender Directorate: Women and Diversities.
In an effort to strengthen the community response to violence, work is being done on the creation of a network of monitors in the different territories, with the aim of raising awareness and promoting prevention actions in coordination with the devices and the intersectoral network. existing in the community. As background, between 2019 and 2023, an average of 842 women were served in these devices. Regarding 2024, to date there are 252 requests for care, 102 of them being women evaluated at high/vital risk.
In this sense, the councilor and president of the Gender and Care Commission of the Municipal Council of Valparaíso, Carla Sánchez, stated that from the Directorate of Gender: Women and Diversities “various efforts have been carried out and it is evident that they have helped many of our fellow human beings in their journey through these violences, which should never be. Therefore, it is urgent to have a policy that takes charge not only of sanctions, but of true prevention that begins with early education, intervention in suspicious cases and toughens penalties even further, so that they are effective and exemplary. As a community, we must act together to enable safe spaces for our neighbors.”
Likewise, highlighting the legislative advances in terms of women’s rights, the Mayor’s Office has highlighted the importance of the criminal classification of femicide, which expands the notion of violence exercised in the context of a partner or ex-partner to “gender reasons”, transcending the scope private.
At a time when gender violence continues to claim lives and leave wounds in society, the Citizen Mayor’s Office of Valparaíso ratifies its determination to protect and promote women’s rights, calling for collective action to put an end to this serious problematic.
