They take advantage of being alone and drunk to touch their private parts. Most of them do not have a record for this type of behavior, although they do not miss the opportunity. However, women are increasingly reporting more, so this type of behavior goes less unpunished. These are some of the conclusions of the Plan for Sexual Violence in leisure environments presented by the Mossos d'Esquadra, which has thoroughly studied the 180 complaints filed in Catalonia in the first four months of the year for sexual assault or abuse not only in discos or parties, but in nearby areas.
The Mossos d'Esquadra have identified 99 perpetrators to participate in sexual violence in these environments, of which only 3 had prior records for crimes against sexual freedom. “The profile of the identified perpetrators suggests that sexual assaults are mostly opportunistic in nature,” says the police who have x-rayed the 180 complaints, which represent 14% of the total for sexual violence registered in Catalonia in these first months of 2023.
“It is the area where they occur less and are of an opportunistic nature and the typical behavior is related to touching”, indicate the Mossos who point out that the training received by the staff of the premises and the awareness of clients “limits the capacity of action of the aggressor”. That is why they consider that “preventive actions” are key to eliminating the risk.
86% of sexual violence has occurred in leisure establishments (46%), on public roads (21%) and in homes (19%). In the case of events that have occurred inside leisure establishments (83), the typical behavior is touching (72%). They detail that recreational activities are also carried out outside the premises and that 56 complaints were registered here. In 36% of these events there was a prior process of recruiting the victim by the alleged aggressor, mainly inside the premises, despite the fact that the attack was outside.
In addition, they point out that in 29% of the 180 cases, the victims of sexual violence in leisure settings were in a situation of vulnerability due to the consumption of alcohol, drugs or pharmaceuticals.. They also point out that only two cases of sexual violence by chemical submission were detected in this area and that the story of the victim was key to working on this line of investigation.
In the last year, the Mossos developed a specific plan in leisure environments with more than 28,000 hours in preventive patrol services and police devices. They guaranteed safe itineraries for women and records and identifications were made to detect people or intervene substances that can serve to inhibit behavior. The police coordinated with town halls, local agents as well as representatives of the sector, whether employers, trade associations or professionals from the leisure sector and private security. They also created the central area of Sexual Assaults to improve specialization, information, and enhance victim care.
more sexual violence
Complaints of sexual violence in Catalonia in 2022 increased by 10% compared to 2021 (from 3,387 to 3,725), although from January to April of this 2023, 1,247 complaints have been filed, representing 19% more than in the same period of the year. past. The Department of the Interior and the Mossos want to reduce the high “hidden figure” of sexual assaults or abuses that account for between 70 and 90% of cases that occur but do not end in a complaint. That is why the specific plan for leisure environments began last year. Between January and April of this year, 1,000 people were arrested or investigated for these crimes, 96% men, and 1,487 victims, 87.8% women and 12.2% men.. Complaints for criminal acts related to sexual violence are 0.65% of all criminal cases and have a resolution rate of 78%.
The Mossos d'Esquadra emphasize that 38% of the total victims are minors while 12% of the aggressors are under 18 years of age, which represents a decrease of 3% compared to the same months last year.. 60% of reported sexual crimes are assaults without violence or intimidation, 38% with this violence and 2% for exhibitionism. More cases happen in the mornings and on weekends and in 51% of cases the violence was at home, by the perpetrator or the victim, 19% on the street and 6% in a leisure venue. 31% of complaints of sexual violence occur in the area of the couple.
In addition, the police point out that in the first four months of this year, 278 acts of sexual violence have been registered in the field of gender violence and 110 acts in domestic violence.. 94% of the suspects are adults and 41% have a criminal record, while one in 10 victims are minors.
Police data shows that 60% of the events that are reported in the field of sexual violence are produced by known perpetrators, whether in the area of the partner, ex-partner, family member or the environment of the victim or his circle. relational, which means that almost 6 out of 10 events occur in environments that the victim considers safe. In 40% of the cases, the perpetrator and the victim did not know each other and the most common is touching in the street or in nightlife venues, taking advantage of their vulnerability.. Only 2% of these cases use violence.
Of all the complaints analyzed, only 3% of sexual predators systematically and premeditatedly approach unknown victims to rape them.. Group sexual assaults are 4% of the cases, 58 events have been reported (out of 1,247) with a total of 79 people who would have participated. In 35 cases (57%) the perpetrator is known to the victim and the majority, 89%, are men, while there are only 4 women involved. There are six cases of minors in multiple sexual assaults: two cases in leisure areas, another two with friends and another two in educational centers.
These group sexual assaults on minors come from an environment known to the victim in premises, friends, school or family and usually there are always adults involved, although they have not been with the affected person for many years.
Chemical submission between friends
The Mossos have only registered 13 cases of chemical submission, 10 of them by acquaintances of the victims, whether a couple, friends or relatives, while 3 unknown perpetrators were in entertainment venues. Most of these assaults were at the home of the aggressor or the victim.
The head of the Mossos General Police Station for Criminal Investigation, Ramon Chacón, explained that cases of chemical submission in nightlife venues are almost non-existent, with only two episodes in the first four months of this year.. There were also two cases in dating, one of them in the homosexual field.
Regarding group aggressions, Chacón said that “there is no defined pattern” since in most cases the perpetrators are between two and three men, 25% have associated physical violence, 43% are known perpetrators and in 26% the rape is committed by only one person.
Some of these cases of group sexual assaults derive from harassment or “bullying” at school, in which the attack on the victim -in this case also boys- gradually “degrades” and goes from insults and beatings to the sexual assault to vex and humiliate, but not to satisfy a sexual desire, according to Chacón.