—FEWER BIRTHS THAN EVER: while Spain argues about jail sentence reductions for rapists (more on all that below), the National Statistics Institute reported this morning that Spain registered its lowest birth rate in the last 46 years in 2021: 7.12 births per 1,000 inhabitants.
—SÁNCHEZ DEFENDS HIS LAW: “The will of the executive power and parliament was clearly to reinforce the security of women”, said the Prime Minister from Bali, regarding the reduction of jail sentences for some rapists yesterday. "That's the goal." The law has been "a great victory for the feminist movement in our country" and is "a vangaurd law, which will inspire many other laws in the world, I am convinced of this […] now it is up to the courts, it is up to the Prosecutor's Office, to unify their doctrine on the matter".
—MINISTER ATTACKS JUDGES: “There are judges not complying with the law”, said Irene Montero (Podemos, Equality Minister): “it happened to us with the visitation regimes for abusers and the infancy law and now it’s happening with the only-yes-is-yes law. The United Nations […] tells us that stereotypes, chauvinism, can compromise the impartiality and integrity of justice systems and that these same stereotypes, that chauvinism, can cause judges to apply the law erroneously or to apply it incorrectly, in a defective manner”. She said there would be more mandatory gender training for lawyers and judges.
—PODEMOS LEADER JOINS IN: the Social Rights Minister, Ione Belarra (Podemos), also blamed judges: “they are applying the new law badly and following the example set by the judicial council”, she said: "Some of the judges in this country have set up in opposition to the coalition government and especially to the Equality Ministry, which is moving progress further than ever".
—ANGRY JUDGES: The Permanent Commission of the General Council of the Judicial Power: "expresses its strongest rejection of the intolerable attacks made in recent hours against members of the judiciary by some political leaders." In a statement, they say that they warned in a report prior to the legislation going through parliament that this would happen.
—JUDGES SAY THEY ALREADY UNDERSTAND GENDER: In addition to the first formal statement from judges, the chairwoman of the Observatory on Domestic and Gender Violence, Ángeles Carmona, has issued another of her own to say that judges "have solid training in gender violence and gender perspective”. In 2019, 1,467 judges were trained in gender perspective and 307 in gender violence.
—OPPOSITION SLAMS GOVERNMENT: "It is an indefensible law," said PP spokeswoman Cuca Gamarra: "The government alone is responsible for failing to protect women, for lowering sentences for sex offenders, and for attacking judges". "This government opens prisons for: pedophiles and rapists, terrorists and coup plotters, corrupt politicians", read a tweet from Vox.
—MORE CASES: the media reported more cases like yesterday's, in more regions of Spain. “It is not gratifying that those convicted of sexual abuse or assault are released from years of jail just like that. What judges cannot do is apply the rule arbitrarily just because of social conditioning or because that is the desire of some minister," said an editorial in ABC.
—JUDGES’ MEETING: Judges in Madrid will meet on November 25 to discuss the application of the new law that is now generating lower sentences for already convicted rapists. What about judges the other regions?
—SÁNCHEZ SUPPORTS POLAND: “I have just spoken with the Prime Minister of Poland”, said the PM this morning: “I have conveyed to him all the support and solidarity of Spain. We stand united for peace". The US now says the missile that hit Poland was Ukrainian. Poland said that last night’s Russian attack had this morning turned out to be an unfortunate accident.
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