Redaccion
Aburto laments this «tragic and sad case» of gender-based violence and calls for condemning «a situation that is already unbearable»
The political groups of the City Council of Bilbao, representatives of the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, as well as various institutions, gathered at 12:00 on Friday on the steps of the town hall to show their condemnation for the death of a 13-year-old girl, allegedly at the hands of her father, in Larraskitu.
Present at the event were, among other personalities, the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan María Aburto; the Deputy Minister of Security, Ricardo Ituarte; the Minister of Welfare, Youth, and Demographic Challenge, Nerea Melgosa; the General Deputy of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe; the Deputy Minister of Employment, Social Cohesion, and Equality, Teresa Laespada; the director of Emakunde, Miren Elgarresta; the president of Eudel, Esther Apraiz, and the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory, Fernando Martínez.
The silent gathering lasted for a few minutes, and afterwards, those present offered a round of applause in support of the family.
The Mayor of Bilbao stated that this crime is «another tragic and sad case of gender-based violence,» and that «the first message must be one of condemnation of a situation that is already unbearable.»
«I hope that these applause turn into support for those women who suffer gender-based violence firsthand and do so in silence,» he added, offering the mother «all the social, psychological, and legal assistance she may need.»
«The message must be to denounce violence, seek help from community environments, institutions, and the police for the necessary assistance, which we are willing to provide. From here, we must continue working towards a culture of equality in homes, families, and the streets,» he concluded.
The director of Emakunde, Miren Elgarresta, lamented this new case of «gender-based violence within the family environment» and added that «the data indicate that it is a case of vicarious violence.» «Some men believe they own women’s lives,» she criticized.
She also stated that machismo is a «structural problem» and considers it «essential» for institutions to be «accompanied by the entire community, as it is a problem that concerns everyone.»
On her part, the Deputy Minister of Employment, Social Cohesion, and Equality, Teresa Laespada, added that «when a child is killed, the woman is also killed for life.» She also pledged to provide the mother with all the necessary resources.
«It is very difficult for this woman to rebuild her life, but we will try and support her. Attitudes of devaluation and behaviors of contempt are the basis, the beginning, of what we have now,» Laespada declared.
Following the gathering, the Deputy Minister of Security, Ricardo Ituarte, stated that according to the information they have, «the father allegedly killed the girl and then committed suicide.»
