The Spanish government is insisting that women are safe despite reported malfunctions of protective electronic bracelets designed to keep them at a distance from their abusers.
The attorney general’s office said in its annual report that the bracelets, which alert victims if their abuser breaches a restraining order, experienced technical problems following a data migration linked to a change in provider.
The malfunctions caused distress for victims and led to “a large number of provisional dismissals or acquittals” in cases involving restraining order violations, the report said.
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Government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría acknowledged that a “period of transition” from June to November 2024 revealed an anomaly but said it was “corrected and resolved”, adding that “technology is not infallible”.
“Women have been protected and have always been safe before, during, and after,” she said during a press conference following a weekly cabinet meeting.
Opposition lawmakers quickly criticised the government, prompting the attorney general’s office to issue a statement saying the “isolated problems” were resolved by the end of 2024.
Officials said cases of alleged restraining order violations dismissed due to the technical problems were reopened once the data was recovered.
Equality Minister Ana Redondo defended the system and said a new tender for the devices would be issued in the coming months.
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“There can be incidents, but to say that these incidents put women at risk — no, please, that is absolutely and radically false,” she said in an interview with Spanish public television.
Opposition lawmakers remain unconvinced and have demanded Redondo’s resignation. Alicia García, spokesperson for the main opposition conservative Popular Party in the Senate, called the glitches “criminal negligence” and accused the minister of lying about the system’s safety.
Since taking office in 2018, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has made feminism and combating violence against women a central focus of his policies.
