The ‘Violet Point’ of the Moors and Christians Festivities of Castalla attends to 500 people of all ages

• The service of the Department of Social Welfare and the Red Cross has provided useful information, raised awareness and sensitised the population to gender-based violence

Castalla Town Council has installed a ‘Violet Point’ during the local Moors and Christians Festivities. The service was active on the nights of Friday 2 and Saturday 3 September, between 23:00 and 2:00 in the morning. This is an initiative of the Department of Social Welfare in collaboration with the Red Cross, in the vicinity of the municipal park, the epicentre of the night-time festivities. In total, the violet point has attended to 478 people during the celebrations.

The councillor for Social Welfare, Maite Gimeno, stressed the importance of having this facility: “The violet point provides reliable information to citizens about the dangers of gender violence and the need for men and women to educate ourselves in equality, to achieve a healthy coexistence within society”. In this sense, the councillor has valued “in a positive way the operation of the violet point in the Moors and Christians festivities, which with its presence also helps to avoid situations of discrimination and sexist violence, in an atmosphere where we all want it to be festive and of celebration in brotherhood”.

However, this is not the first time that Castalla has had a violet point on one of its main days. The service had already been installed previously during the Moors and Christians Festivities in 2019 and during the Festive Half Year. However, with the data collected, it is possible to speak of the normalisation of the presence of the violet point among the citizens.

Gimeno also explained the main benefits of the violet point: “The service helps us to provide useful information to the festive men and women; raise awareness about gender violence; raise awareness among the general public and go and act in case of male aggression”. All of this, explained the councillor, “is part of the State Pact against Gender Violence, promoted by the Ministry of Equality”.

In total, according to data provided by the Red Cross, the violet point of Castalla has assisted 478 people over the weekend: 182 men and 296 women. By age group, between 11 and 15 years old, 30 men and 66 women were attended; between 16 and 20 years old, 93 men and 145 women were attended; between 21 and 30 years old, 44 men and 57 women were attended; and for those over 31 years old, 15 men and 28 women were attended.