From January to December 2022, a total of 49 women have been murdered in Spain by the sphere of the partner and/or ex-partner.
Madrid and Barcelona are the provinces where, in absolute terms, the highest number of crimes of sexist violence have occurred. However, taking into account the proportion of the female population, the provinces with the highest incidence are those of Almería (11.7 femicides per 100,000 women in 15 years), and Granada, with an incidence of 8.8 murdered women.

Violence has increased a lot during the Covid pandemic. During confinement, women were 'more at risk' of femicide because they were trapped at home with their tormentor, but due to the fact that he felt safer, aware that he had all the power and control in his own hands. The woman had nowhere to go, she had no way out. This is how the phenomenon of intimate partner violence has grown, but not its most serious form, that is, feminicide.

The women murdered in Spain during 2022 have different profiles and, overall, they only agree that the end of their lives was precipitated by the actions of the men with whom they had a sentimental relationship. The youngest, Claudia, was 17 years old and had broken up with her 19-year-old boyfriend. Clotilde, the oldest, was 82 years old and was on vacation with her husband and executioner.

Sexist violence does not discriminate based on age , social class, economic power or professions.

My installation is a work that aims to raise public awareness on the issue of gender violence, in particular domestic violence which turn into feminicides. initially I painted this work on the streets of the city and subsequently created an installation called "La Virgen de la sangre de las mujeres" (The Virgin of Women's blood).



This installation has as its stage the performance in a room. The room represents a small domestic corner, a place of intimacy and affection, but which becomes the scene of violence and tragedy. The two empty armchairs represent the broken lives of two people involved, victims of domestic violence, and the empty table in front of them suggests the idea of a past of sharing, dialogue and serenity, now distant and irretrievable.
The small piece of paper with the writing "You loved me so much, that you wanted to see my blood" expresses the victim's voice, her pain and her anger, but also her incomprehension in the face of the attacker's violence.

In the background, the picture I painted of the weeping Virgin amplifies the sense of pain and loss, representing a maternal figure who cries for the lives taken away by domestic violence. The painting is created as a light box containing the stencil painting on paper of the weeping Virgin, illuminated by a soft light that recalls the sensation of a church or place of worship. In the room, an intermittent stroboscopic light amplifies the sense of confusion and bewilderment caused by domestic violence, suggesting the idea of an unstable environment and an uncertain reality.

The threads that cross the scene from side to side represent the conflict that is created between two people and the webs of thoughts and emotions that domestic violence brings with it. Their presence suggests the idea of an intricate and difficult to understand reality, but also of a shared suffering that goes beyond the individual people involved.

Other sheets of paper are stuck all around where the names of the victims and how they were killed are written. I think it is important to remember the names of the victims rather than the names of their attackers, as often happens.

These are the statistics in Spain with almost 1 victim every week, but also in other countries this phenomenon is continuously and worryingly growing. The best way to fight against these forms of violence is to denounce any action of mistreatment, information and education aimed at not being afraid of such difficult situations but having the courage to face them in order to defeat them.

I hope that my work can raise public awareness on the issue of gender violence, stimulating critical reflections and offering a space for emotional processing.

From the following link you can download the report and the stories of the femicides that took place in Spain in 2022.

Scrolling down the page you can view the poster and a video of the installation.