Inmaculada Valderrama: The Struggle for Truth Regarding the Patronato de Protección a la Mujer

• On September 19, 1983, 14-year-old Inmaculada Valderrama was found dead at the Nuestra Señora del Pilar reformatory in San Fernando de Henares.
• Authorities closed the case as a suicide, but a new investigation into the institution reveals a hurried investigation and a complete lack of institutional accountability.
• The upcoming book, Inmaculada, la muerte que precipitó el final del Patronato (2026), highlights how this facility—managed by a Catholic secular institute—operated long after the end of the Franco dictatorship.

The Patronato de Protección a la Mujer

• The Patronato was a Francoist institution that survived for ten years after the dictator's death, focusing on re-educating and punishing girls who deviated from national-Catholic social norms.
• Interns included girls who were pregnant, perceived as 'rebellious' for their attire or lifestyle, or who were lesbian.
• Systematic violence and restricted liberty were common, yet documented history of these abuses remains scarce due to the poor maintenance of archives and the retention of records by religious congregations.

The Fight for Redress

• Because the death occurred during the democratic period, the 1977 Amnesty Law—often used to block investigations into Franco-era crimes—does not apply, yet justice remains elusive.
• Inmaculada’s family has received no financial compensation for her death.
• On March 20, 2024, the government recognized 53 survivors as victims of the regime; however, many families and survivors, like Paca Blanco, argue that symbolic gestures like diplomas do not substitute for the dignity, adequate pensions, and housing they were denied.