The Sindicatura de Greuges de Barcelona warned this Tuesday that the support services for victims of sexual violence in the Catalan capital are “saturated” after confirming a “sharp increase in reports and revelations of situations of sexual violence” in recent years. It is for this reason that he asked the Town Hall to strengthen care services.
The entity chaired by David Bondia published this Tuesday the report ‘Sexual violence support services in the city of Barcelona’, in which “more than a hundred” people who work in social and health services and in self-managed entities.
In a statement, they said the increase in cases had an impact “in the form of saturation of services”. According to the report, the time that usually elapses between first contact and its start The performance waits 3.3 months. “It’s a time far beyond the ideal,” they say.
Furthermore, they indicate that the data collected shows that “the majority of people served by services have not experienced sexual violence recently, but rather an average of 3 years has passed from the violent incident until arrival at the service,” he warned.
The union regretted that there is no specialized service for non-recent sexual violence and that these generally present “more serious characteristics because they involve childhood victimization, complex trauma or domestic violence, among others”.
“Too long” stays in reception structures
The report also revealed stays ““too long” in emergency reception resourcesin which the maximum recommended stays are multiplied by five. Concerning non-urgent reception services, stays also extend too long, mainly “due to lack of access to other types of residential services”, such as long-stay or independent living services.
Likewise, it was identified a lack of residential resources for women with active drug use or serious or uncompensated mental health problems, disabilities or situations of functional diversity. We also note that Animals are not allowed in the resources.which means that there are women who do not want to stay there.
Reports significant turnover among professionals
On the other hand, the union denounced the working conditions of the professional teams of these centers. “They can be improved,” they assured. Furthermore, they reported “lots of rotation and burnout” among the workforce. “The majority of workers say that the team changes every year or lesseven. Some also highlight the lack of resources from which they suffer,” they indicate.
Furthermore, they criticize the fact that There has been no increase in the number of professionals proportional to the number of people servedwhich leads to “greater stress”. Professionals emphasize “the emotional impact, responsibility and symptoms of burnout.
Recommendations
For all these reasons, the Court of Auditors has prepared several recommendations to Barcelona City Hall, among which “agree on a definition of sexual violence aligned with current regulations and shared by all resources; establish a clear entry into the service circuit for cases of recent and non-recent violence; either update district good care guides“.
They also advise “ensuring specialized care adapted to each type of sexual violence; provide specific services with sufficient staff and resources; and study whether it is necessary for the municipal council to create specific professional categories to combat sexual violence.
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