An official at the A Lama penitentiary center, in , suffered last Friday from a prisoner, as confirmed by sources from Penitentiary Institutions. A detention measure was applied to the inmate and the facts have been brought to the attention of the Prosecutor’s Office, according to the same sources. The ACAIP-UGT union, the majority among prison workers, made public this Monday what happened. According to her version, the victim was cornered against a wall by the inmate, who forcibly kissed her and injured her lip. The woman managed to free herself, but the attacker chased her, verbally harassing her. “The attack has generated deep indignation and has reopened the debate on protection measures in the prison environment,” the union emphasizes.
The , identified with the initials MB and with “a conflictive history,” according to the union, approached the official when she was monitoring the second gallery of the penitentiary center. According to ACAIP’s version, he surprised her on one of the stairs claiming that he had to give her a document. “When the official approached to read the paper, the inmate grabbed her by the neck, cornering her against the wall and trying to forcefully kiss her,” they explain. “Despite her resistance, the aggressor managed to insert his tongue into her mouth, while pressing his body against hers, biting her upper lip and causing wounds,” they add. When she managed to escape, she was chased by the inmate, who continued to verbally harass her. Then, the woman arrived at a security cabin, where other colleagues were, and the head of service, who ordered the provisional transfer of the inmate to isolation, continued.
“The situation is one of the most serious and complicated that has been experienced in recent years,” says the union spokesperson, Joaquín Leyva. Although the injuries are not serious – the woman has a small laceration on her lip – “the psychological consequences can be very hard,” he adds. The union highlights the center’s “diligence” in this case, but they protest that these types of situations are not recorded in the assault prevention protocol if there is no physical attack or injury.
“It is not an isolated case, but rather the reflection of a broader problem that affects female prison workers,” adds this spokesperson. This Monday, the union has also detailed other situations that prison officials encounter, such as inmates appearing naked in the counts knowing that it will be an official who opens the peephole, and being told phrases like “open the door and come in, I was waiting for you” or “I know you like me, look what cock I have for you, slut.” They also attack them with their genitals during a search or take out their penis in front of several officials and tell them to suck it.
The union denounces that Penitentiary Institutions have not provided them with the specific number of complaints of harassment, aggression or threats towards female officials between 2021 and 2023, as they requested through the Transparency Portal, saying that it is impossible to make a “statistical exploitation” of the data. “There has been an obligation since May 2021 to carry out statistical control,” emphasizes Leyva, in reference to the resolution that created the equality department of Penitentiary Institutions that requires collecting this data, disaggregated by sex, for the promotion of equality actions. and because of sex. “Denying the problem does not protect us,” they say. “All incidents of sexual harassment, all incidents of exhibitionism are registered in the computer system with their own category,” says a spokesperson for Penitentiary Institutions.
The response from Penitentiary Institutions to ACAIP-UGT, received on August 14 and to which EL PAÍS has had access, assures that it is not possible to carry out the “statistical exploitation” that the union requested “through the computer tools of the Secretariat General”. “It would mean doing a case-by-case study, center by center, through a legal analysis on paper (inmates’ personal file) of each complaint that had been known by this management center,” they add. The letter, signed by the general director of Criminal Enforcement and Social Reintegration, Miguel Ángel Vicente Cuenca, concludes that “it is not feasible” to carry out a statistical analysis for this because it would imply the dedication of human resources “with legal qualifications” in the 80 penitentiary centers dependent on the General Administration of the State, and who would stop carrying out their tasks of caring for the inmate population.
Among the union’s main demands is the incorporation of sexual assaults into assault prevention protocols, rigorous compliance with procedures to investigate and punish these behaviors, and the collection and analysis of specific data on harassment and violence based on sex. sex in prisons. “Prison work, already complicated and stressful, cannot become an experience marked by constant tension in the face of possible attacks,” they add.
“Since 2007, when the scales were unified, more women officials have been entering. Now we have between 30% and 35% on guard duty in men’s prisons. This problem is going to get worse. We are all exposed to attacks, but our colleagues encounter an added bonus: sexual violence. Perhaps it is time to address this issue, because zero risk does not exist, but the risks must be minimized,” assesses the union spokesperson.
Telephone 016 assists victims of sexist violence, their families and those around them 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in 53 different languages. The number is not registered on the telephone bill, but the call must be deleted from the device. You can also contact via email and by WhatsApp at the number 600 000 016. Minors can contact the ANAR Foundation telephone number 900 20 20 10. If it is an emergency situation, you can call 112 or the National Police telephone numbers (091) and the Civil Guard (062). And if you cannot call, you can use the ALERTCOPS application, from which an alert signal is sent to the Police with geolocation.
