The Prosecutor's Office of Spain established a new criteria according to which women victims of gender violence cannot benefit from the exemption that traditionally allows them to refuse to testify against their partner or ex-partner when their minor children have witnessed the aggression. This exemption was frequently invoked by women who felt fear or who, for some reason, withdrew from the complaint filed.
The new criteria was adopted to resolve the contradictory decisions that were being issued by some courts regarding this issue. The Prosecutor's Office considered it necessary to unify the understanding on the subject to guarantee greater consistency in the application of justice in these cases.
According to this new guidance, the children who witnessed the aggression are equally considered victims of mistreatment, not merely witnesses to the facts. In this way, the protection of minors is placed above the mother's right not to testify against a family member, changing the previous approach in these proceedings.
