The Social Affairs Commission of the Parliament has given unanimous approval to a non-legislative proposal from the PP that calls for strengthening the judicial and forensic resources allocated to the care of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence.
The seven points of the non-legislative proposal defended by the 'popular' MP have received backing from all the groups and propose, among other measures, that the Govern and the competent institutions drive the progressive implementation of the Barnahus model, guaranteeing comprehensive, specialized, coordinated care centered on the needs of minor victims of sexual violence.
The initiative also asks the central Government to ensure a sufficient, stable, and territorially balanced allocation of psychology professionals, social workers, and other technical and forensic teams attached to the Administration of Justice, with special emphasis on the specialists who carry out the examination and assessment of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence.
In addition, the non-legislative proposal urges the state Executive to make available to the Administration of Justice the human, technical, and organizational resources necessary to effectively apply measures aimed at preventing secondary victimization of minor victims of sexual violence, to facilitate the full participation of technical and forensic teams in the rollout of the Barnahus model in the Balearic Islands, and to ensure that Menorca, Eivissa, and Formentera have real access, on conditions of equity, to the professionals needed to care for children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence.
On the other hand, the proposal calls on the regional Govern to enable the appropriate physical space for the development of the Barnahus model and to accelerate the hiring of its own staff for the Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Unit (Utasi).
Precarity of care in Menorca
In the same session, the Commission has approved, with Vox voting against on most of the points, an initiative from Més per Menorca, defended by MP Joana Gomila, which urges the Govern to draft a strategic plan for care and dependency with a 2030 horizon, which includes clear objectives, sufficient resources, an execution schedule, and effective evaluation systems to correct possible shortfalls.
The proposal underscores that the precarization of care work perpetuates situations of gender discrimination and acts as an obstacle to real equality between women and men, as well as to well-being and social cohesion.
In virtue of this initiative, the Parlament calls on the Autonomous Executive to promote measures that foster effective shared responsibility in care, equitable work permits, as well as social awareness campaigns about the relevance of care and its social and economic value, aimed at effective equality and dignifying the sector.
Along these lines, the Commission asks the Govern to set in motion programs of emotional support and accompaniment for caregiving families and for non-professional caregivers, with training and information spaces, rest and respite programs, in addition to mechanisms for public recognition of their essential social function.
Likewise, the creation of stable monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for working conditions in the care sector is being called for, with data broken down by sex, professional profile and territory, which will allow inequalities to be detected and corrected. A study is also requested to be carried out, differentiated by islands, on the current and future needs for care personnel, including those derived from population aging, the increase in dependency, and the greater complexity of care needs.
Lastly, the initiative urges the Central Government to promote a comprehensive law on care and dependency that guarantees decent labor rights, adequate wages, stability in contracting, and ongoing training for all professional persons in the sector.