Silence leaves its mark too.

Just when you least expect it, you meet the person you believe is perfect for you and the love of your life. As the years go by, you decide to rent a flat with your partner, and that’s when a huge change begins for you. But that’s when you discover your partner’s true colours. First, you hear an inappropriate comment and don’t know how to react to it, but in the end you brush it off and carry on living with the person you call the love of your life. That comment starts to become more apparent in your relationship, but you’re already trapped and don’t know what to do; you think the best thing is to stay and let time sort everything out.

You stopped going out, seeing your friends, being yourself, and you even became invisible to those around you who truly loved you. There were no visible signs, but you did feel that you couldn’t stay there any longer and that staying there was only hurting you.

In this article, we explain a little about gender-based violence and how it doesn’t always start with physical aggression. We can see that Article 1 of Organic Law 1/2004, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), shows us that gender-based violence doesn’t always start with visible physical aggression, but also with the mental harm it can cause, whether psychological or through threats made by your partner.

This means that that first comment you heard, which left you feeling a bit shaken and indifferent, was also a crime. That comment was the starting point that showed how things would only get worse over time and would leave you with very serious consequences.

The justice system doesn’t just act once the damage has been done; it also protects against situations of risk, offering possible measures such as restraining orders, legal assistance and victim protection. Never think it’s too late to report it, even if it’s a difficult step for you, whether due to fear or silence; delaying it will only cause more pain for you and for the people around you who love you.

If you wish to report an incident, please contact us.