The Bucaramanga City Council has asked the Municipality to implement measures to ensure the follow-up of reported cases and prevent possible tragedies. The authorities indicated which factors may influence this increase and what actions are being taken in this regard.
Although he tried to outwit the authorities, CTI agents from the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police managed to capture the subject who attacked his 24-year-old ex-partner with scissors in a flower shop in Bucaramanga.
He was put behind bars for the crime of aggravated domestic violence, after the attack recorded last April. That same month, the brutal beating suffered by a 9-year-old boy was also in the news. His own parents were the aggressors, in events that took place in a tenement in the La Feria neighborhood.
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Both cases reflect the worrying rates of domestic violence reported by local authorities so far this year. According to official statistics, this type of aggression within families has increased by 36% compared to the same period last year.
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Call from the Council
“The police portal warns us that the rate of domestic violence currently has a variation of almost 200 more cases than last year,” warned Diego Lozada Trijillo, councilor of Bucaramanga.
According to these statistics, between January and June 30, 2023, 542 cases of violence in homes were reported, compared to the 739 reports registered between January and June 13, 2024.
“We know that it is a difficult issue to face during the first months of government, but close attention must be paid, because the cases have skyrocketed and the situation has not been treated as it should be. More preventive actions must be implemented,” said the Councilor.
These indicators presented by the Police warn of an alarming average: every day four cases of domestic violence are formally reported to the authorities in Bucaramanga.
“We reiterate the message to the Municipal Administration and the other competent organizations and institutions to take preventive measures, provide security to women and minors in danger and strictly monitor the cases that have already been reported to the authorities,” he stated. Lozada Trujillo.
What do the authorities say?
Anggy Karina Cuadros, advisor on Women and Gender Equality for the Mayor’s Office of Bucaramanga, said that “this type of violence has multiple causes. There are women, for example, who suffer economic violence and feel that they cannot get ahead or start their own business. Many of them do not know where to go or how to seek support.”
So far this year, five femicides have been recorded in Bucaramanga. The authorities insist that in the event of minor mistreatment or abuse recorded in the family environment, it is important to go to institutions such as the Family Police Station, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Police and the ICBF to report.
“Through the Pink Code, a prevention strategy that brings together multiple authorities, we carry out exhausting days to teach the distress signal, which consists of raising our hand, hiding our thumb and closing our fist. We have carried out campaigns in areas such as ‘Cuadra Play’, and shopping centers such as San Andresito La Isla,” Cuadros said.
In public spaces and massive settings, such as the public transport system and the recent women’s basketball championship that was hosted by the ‘Beautiful City’.
This weekend, as specified by the Municipality, awareness and information actions will be carried out on the service channels provided by the authorities, in rumba areas.
“We will be back at ‘Cuadra Play’, in Zona Rosa, in the mariachi sector, the Gigiomanía area,” added the Women and Gender Equality Advisor.
Help and attention lines
* Police Emergency Line 123: reports on cases in progress that require urgent intervention.
* Line 155: guidance for victims, 24 hours a day.
* Attorney General’s Office: 122 and 01 8000 9197 48.
* WhatsApp Centro de La Mujer de Bucaramanga (312 674 0066): service from Monday to Saturday between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm
* Family police station (318 350 6345): 24-hour service.
