Balearic “safe houses” shelter battered women

The Balearic Institute for Women said yesterday that of the total number of victims, 130 were given assistance at the three care centres on Majorca, 17 were attended to on Minorca and 38 on Ibiza.

Ninety-one women claimed they had suffered psychological violence at the hands of their partners, 86 said they had been subjected to physical abuse, 45 declared they had been mistreated both psychologically and physically and 21 alleged they were victims of sexual aggression. Eight of the children also claimed to have suffered abuse.

Analysing where the victims originally come from, 54 women -- the majority -- live in towns and villages in outlying areas of the Balearic Islands; 23 live in Palma, 6 in Mahón (Minorca), 23 on Ibiza, and 6 of the inmates came from outside the region.

By nationality, 70 women are Spanish and 91 come from a wide variety of foreign countries. The most numerous groups come from Morocco (14), Romania (14) and Ecuador (8).

In terms of place of birth, 89 foreign women born outside Spain, the largest group at the centres, asked for help at the “safe houses”; 37 victims were born on the mainland of Spain and 25 in the Balearic Islands.