He may have thrown her down the stairs, beaten her up and left her covered in bruises, a black eye, and broken ribs. But when he comes back with a bunch of flowers and words of love, she forgives him. Traditionally, Spain's Catholic priests and even judges dealing with cases of domestic violence advised women to stay with their violent husbands in order to keep the family together, according to dpa. Today, less women are prepared to forgive, but numerous government measures against domestic violence have had little impact on the problem which has risen to one of the top campaign themes in the March 9 elections. "I will be implacable" towards violent men, conservative opposition leader Mariano Rajoy vowed, while Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero pledged to rally the regional authorities against the "blight." The two top candidates for prime minister spoke out after four women were killed by their husbands or partners within 24 hours. It was the largest number of victims within such a short time in Spain, where more than 500 women have been shot, stabbed, strangled, burned or killed in other ways in incidents of domestic violence since 2000. In 2007, the number of victims was 71. Domestic violence is not a specifically Spanish problem, and many of the women who are abused in Spain are immigrants. Yet protests against domestic violence have become particularly pronounced in Spain hand in hand with the improvement of women's rights after the 1939-75 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, when women were legally under male guardianship. A woman could not open a bank account, apply for a passport, or take a job without her husband's consent. Such a lack of rights would now seem unthinkable in Spain, where the Zapatero government has sought a role as a worldwide pioneer in women's rights. Zapatero appointed Spain's first half-female cabinet. His government pushed through laws obliging political parties to have at least 40 per cent of female candidates in elections and companies to guarantee equality between male and female employees. A 2004 law against domestic violence, however, has had little effect. Experts say there are not enough specialized courts, specialists to assess the level of protection needed by each victim, and economic support for financially dependent victims. The roots of the problem, however, lie deep in a culture where people turn a deaf ear to the screams of women living next door. Up to two million women are estimated to be victims of domestic violence in Spain, but only about 30 per cent report their aggressors to police. Women under-estimate the danger to their lives and justify the violence of the aggressor by blaming themselves for it, experts say. "We can treat (the women) physically, but it is very hard to separate the victim from her man," said one doctor treating victims of domestic violence at an emergency ward. One young woman, for instance, continued seeing the man who had killed her seven-year-old son, because she was emotionally "addicted" to him, as her psychologists put it. Men who kill their wives or girlfriends usually act with premeditation, are conscious of what they are doing, and are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a recent study of 149 cases found. The typical abusive man "only attacks people who he feels belong to him," said Raquel Orantes, whose mother was burned to death after living for 40 years in a violent marriage. "He has a great sense of property." "I hit her because she is mine," is how such men reason. "She belongs to me or to no-one," another saying goes. Insecure and jealous, such men try to control their women through intimidation and violence which may culminate in murder when she finally decides to leave. "However superior these men try to feel to the woman, they are emotionally dependent on the couple," psychologist Heinrich Geldschlaeger explained. "Losing it is a very strong threat" for such men. Some Spanish men's organizations have mounted campaigns against domestic violence, hoping that violent men, who do not take women's complaints seriously, will listen to other men. "The fundamental problem is the machismo that still pervades a large part of society," the daily El Pais observed.
