He Viogen systema network of resources that are activated to provide protection to victims of sexist violence, It only operates in 45 of the 88 Canarian municipalities. The reason this network does not work in practically half of the Archipelago is the lack of personnel in the Civil Guard – which depends on the State – and local police – whose financing comes from the town councils -. It should be remembered that a 34-year-old woman He is in an induced coma after this Wednesday his partner burned down the house where they lived in Arona and in which was, in addition to the mother, their 4-year-old son.
Given the urgency to review the protocols, Mari Brito, president of the Canarian Federation of Municipalities (Fecam) has insisted this Friday, during a meeting with representatives of each local administrationin the need to adhere to Viogén and reinforce local police, in addition to therer urged the state government to reinforce the presence of the Civil Guard on the Islands.
This non-adherence of the Canarian municipalities to the protection network against gender violence “does not mean that there is a lack of sensitivity” – explained Brito – but rather that “When there are no agents or the number is insufficient to cover all areas, it becomes difficult to adhere to protocols that you may not be able to comply with”. In fact, to join the protection network, collaboration protocols must be signed between the Local Police and the State Security Forces and Bodies. In the Islands, only 26 municipalities in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and 19 in Las Palmas have signed these agreements.
The importance of adhering to the Viogén protocol lies not only in providing immediate help to the victim, but also in identifying cases of sexist violence and monitoring them. This implies an entire network that, according to what the municipalities have told Brito, is rooted in the “insufficiency” of the resources of local police and civil guards.. As an example, Agulo, in La Gomera, lacks Local Police officers so it can hardly comply with the protocols..
