Currently, our criminal legislation includes several crimes related to gender violence, i.e., where the aggressor is a man and the victim is a woman with whom he is or has been married or has had an analogous sentimental relationship, even if they did not live together.
One of the most frequent behaviors suffered by women at the hands of their partners or ex-partners is the so-called “mistreatment of work”, but what exactly does it consist of?
The mistreatment of work, in general, is a subtype of the crime of injury, in which the aggressor assaults or hits the victim undermining his physical or psychological integrity without causing any injury that requires medical assistance. Let’s think of cases of pushing, slapping, kicking, grabbing, shaking, shaking, etc.. These are violent actions that do not usually cause injuries requiring medical assistance. As a general rule, that is, if we are not in a situation of gender violence, this crime is punishable by a fine of 1 to 2 months.
In contexts of gender violence, as mentioned above, the aggressor is necessarily a man and the victim is a woman with whom he is or has been married or has an analogous sentimental relationship, even if they do not live together. In this case, in the same type of aggression and precisely to provide more protection to the woman victim of gender violence, the crime can be punished with imprisonment from 6 months to 1 year, or community service from 31 to 80 days and always with the penalty of prohibition of possession and carrying of weapons from 1 year and 1 day to 3 years.
Prohibitions on residing or going to certain places, prohibitions on approaching the victim, family members or specific places and prohibitions on communications may also be added.
Frequently, the mistreatment of work suffers from an important evidentiary difficulty, precisely due to the lack of objective injuries that can be evaluated both by doctors and by Judges. In this case, the testimony of the victim and also of possible witnesses to the aggression are of vital importance.
Sara Gabernet Roca
Lawyer specialized in Criminal Law
Martínez & Caballero Abogados
