• Nearly 20% yearly hike in calls to “016” hotline from women seeking help •
Spain’s Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality has reported an year-on-year increase of 19.4 percent in the number of calls received by the “016” nationwide domestic abuse and gender violence hotline last year.
According to the ministry, the national “016” toll-free hotline received 81,992 calls during 2015, the highest number since the 24-hour phone service was established in 2007 under the Socialist administration of then-Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
The hotline is open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and allows women who are victims of domestic abuse or gender violence to call for help, leaving no record of the call either in the woman’s phone log or monthly invoice from the telephone service provider, so as to avoid reprisals by male partners.
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