To set out a national plan to combat male violence that focusses on women and makes it possible to assess the level of implementation and efficiency of existing circuits

During the Covid-19 pandemic, calls to the support line due to male violence increased by 24.5%. In 2020, April to June saw the highest number of calls logged at 35.2% of the total. Catalan Act 5/2008, of 24 April, on the right of women to eradicate male violence, set out a guiding protocol that needed to be implemented in Catalonia, but in the assessment conducted ten years later only 5 circuits had been put in place at supracounty level, with no leadership, while there are still no more in the rest of Catalonia. Article 80 also envisaged the Catalan Women's Institute serving as the component underpinning coordination. In practice, the quality of care provided to women depends on the level of commitment of each professional, and the most senior associations – such as Tamaia, which fostered care for victims of violence founded on a restorative, receptive attitude – have closed their doors due to lack of material and financial backing from institutions. The issue is serious because women undergo a number of years – eight on average – suffering as victims of male violence before deciding to resort to any kind of go-to resource, and the time they take to gain access to sheltered housing is six months. A national plan to combat male violence is needed which focusses on women and makes it possible to carry out a number of actions: to assess the level of implementation of the framework protocol and the efficiency of existing integrated circuits (health and social); to provide continuing training for the various professionals intervening in detection, reception and support; to set up circuits in regions that do not have one and to ensure the coordination of each circuit benefits from political leadership; to increase the allocation of human and material resources in order to address all these needs; and to compile comprehensive statistics on the actions carried out (women supported, places at shelters, etc.), with an estimate on unmet demand for these types of care and support services.