The Minister of Equality confronts the far-right Vox in Congress over Ceuta: "We are not going to allow anyone to turn pain into a weapon to sow hatred"

The Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, announced this Monday in Congress a new specific reinforcement to protect women and girls affected by the migratory crisis in Ceuta. Her department is preparing a multidisciplinary unit specialized in violence against women, integrated into the Government Delegation and made up of professionals in psychology, social work, legal advice, migration, childhood, and international protection.

Redondo placed the fight against sexual assaults among the Government's priorities and at the same time rejected that the crimes registered in recent weeks serve to extend suspicions about all migrants. "Responsibility for an aggression always lies with the perpetrator," she defended during her appearance before the Equality Commission.

The minister intervened after an update from the Prosecutor's Office raised the number of 23 sexual assaults registered in Ceuta since July 30, five of them rapes with penetration. Redondo used a previous balance of 21 cases during her intervention. The latest data also places the number of minor victims between 14 and 17 years old at nine.

The information known so far points to eight men identified for these acts, including Moroccan, Spanish, and a Belgian citizen. Redondo insisted that each case must be investigated individually and rejected using the nationality of the aggressors to fuel collective criminalization.

More protection and safe spaces for women and girls

Equality wants to especially reinforce the detection of situations that may be going unnoticed. Since the beginning of the crisis, the 016 phone line has received 16 relevant calls from Ceuta and four WhatsApp inquiries, although none were directly related to the migratory emergency.

The minister believes there may be "underreporting" due to fear, language barriers, or some victims' fear of being repatriated. For this reason, information about 016 has been reinforced in Arabic, French, and English, in addition to using pictograms and coordinating with organizations that work directly with women.

Ceuta's 24-hour Crisis Center currently attends to nine minor victims of sexual assault. Igualdad has also agreed to relax the usual 72-hour limit so that they can remain there until a safe alternative is found.

Added to this is the new facility opened this Monday in La Hípica, with about 320 places for migrant women and controlled access, surveillance, and referral mechanisms for possible cases of sexual violence, gender violence, trafficking, or exploitation. Priority will be given to women who are on the street, lack safe accommodation, are pregnant, have minors in their care, or present other factors of special vulnerability.

The department also works with Civil Protection on a permanent protocol for future migratory emergencies. The intention is that attention to sexual and gender violence can be deployed from the outset without the need to improvise resources every time a similar situation occurs.

Redondo lashes out against Vox's "hunting" of migrants

The toughest part of the appearance came during the clash with the far-right Vox. Redondo expressly criticized deputy José María Figaredo for asking that migrants who arrived in Ceuta on July 30 and 31 be "hunted" one by one.

"They think this is a safari and they are going to hunt migrants," the minister reproached. Igualdad already brought those words to the attention of the Prosecutor's Office to assess whether they may have criminal relevance.

Redondo has acknowledged "the weariness, the overwhelm, and the fear" existing among part of the Ceuta population, but has rejected that a public representative use that discomfort to point fingers at migrants. "That is not democratic, that deserves a reprobation," she affirmed before demanding "responsibility and exemplary conduct" from public officials.

The minister has accompanied her warning with data from the Spanish Observatory of Racism and Xenophobia. During July, 57,406 contents related to hate speech and discriminatory narratives were detected, 41% more than the previous month. Only on July 30 and 31, 9,590 messages against people from North Africa were located.

"We are not going to minimize a single aggression that occurred in Ceuta, but neither are we going to allow anyone to turn pain, suffering, and insecurity into a weapon to stigmatize and sow hatred," Redondo warned.

The clash with Vox continued during the rebuttal turn. The minister accused the far-right party of "longing for Francoism and authoritarianism" and criticized their absences from institutional meetings convened to address the situation of migrant minors. The far-right deputy María de los Reyes Romero began to heckle her from her seat and the commission president had to call her to order.

Redondo also defended cooperation with Morocco to face the crisis. According to the data offered in the commission, between 50 and 100 migrants voluntarily return each day, while efforts for family reunifications and possible repatriations continue. "Morocco has been, is, and must continue to be an important part of the solution," she affirmed.

The minister also closed the round of appearances by government members on Ceuta before the intervention of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. Sánchez will appear at his own request before Congress this Thursday, September 3, to report on the management of the crisis.