Denia takes anti-gender violence stand onto the streets in Costa Blanca

DENIA has taken an anti-gender violence stand out onto the streets this weekend as part of a campaign to raise awareness about the issue and the victims.
In all 100 mannequins have been distributed around streets, squares and in front of municipal buildings, each representing the people who get out and condemn violence against women and join the fight against it.
Each mannequin is dressed with a purple T-shirt bearing slogans like ‘You are not alone’ and ‘Call 0165’.
The aim is to give visibility to victims and to put out the message they are not on their own and there is a way out, explained Equality and Diversity councillor Javier Scotto.
The department has called on local people to take a selfie with the figures and post the images on social media as a gesture to demonstrate their rejection of gender violence.
The #SaldelaViolenciadeGenero (Get out of gender violence) initiative is a collaboration between the local council’s Equality and Diversity and Trade departments, the ACADE Denia Self-Employed Traders’ Association and the company Maniquies DiCapo,
Denia Mayor Vicent Grimalt highlighted the grim fact that 51 women have died at the hands of their partners or ex-partner in Spain so far this year, and that one of the victims was a local resident.
“We want to give visibility to a real problem”, he stressed.
The mannequins will remain on the municipal streets until tomorrow Monday, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.