Andalusia Transfers Gender-Based Violence Competencies to Far-Right Party

• The Andalusian regional government is facing criticism for assigning competencies regarding gender-based violence to the Justice Department, led by the far-right party Vox.
• Spain’s Ministry of Equality has denounced the move, arguing that victim support services cannot be entrusted to those who systematically deny the existence of gender violence.
• Andalusia leads the country in total femicides since 2003, with 290 recorded cases.

Government Coalition Tensions

• The regional government, led by President Moreno Bonilla of the People's Party (PP), has faced multiple controversies since forming a coalition with Vox.
• The decision places the Comprehensive Assessment Units for Gender Violence under the control of Manuel Gavira, a leader of the far-right party, who has publicly dismissed the efficacy of existing gender-based violence laws and the "Viogen" system.

Official and Political Response

• Ana Redondo, Minister of Equality, has called on PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo to explain how this decision aligns with the state-wide Pact against Gender-Based Violence.
• Regional opposition parties, including Por Andalucía and Adelante Andalucía, have vowed to monitor the situation, labeling the move as a betrayal of women's rights.

Historical Context and Policy Shift

• This follows previous influence by Vox on regional policy, including the 2020 defunding of over 240 organizations supporting victims of gender violence.
• Previous concessions by the PP government include replacing the term "gender violence" with "family violence" in institutional discourse and creating a family violence hotline that largely redirected calls to existing women's services.
• The current PP-Vox governing pact contains no reference to gender-based violence, focusing instead on a plan to support pregnant women.