Showing The Red Card: Women in Mallorcan society

A planning inspector in Calvia is under investigation having been denounced by a woman who alleges he sought sexual favours in return for "regularising" building work at the woman's home. He was caught on a mobile phone camera, but denies having requested such favours.

Being under investigation, I won't say any more, except that I have some interest in the case. I know one of the parties concerned, and it isn't the planning inspector. The reporting of the case, other than the facts as they are known, reveals that the inspector was well known in Calvia and that colleagues at the town hall are shocked by the allegations.

Would you be shocked if I were to tell you about a restaurant owner who seeks sexual favours in return for employment? Maybe you would be, maybe you wouldn't. You might be if you knew the restaurant, but that's life, you might think. That's how it is. And this is Mallorca after all.

Sexual harassment is part of a much broader picture that covers serious crimes against women. In Spain so far this year sixty-nine women have died as the consequence of violence by their partners or former partners. Not as bad as 2008 when there were 76 deaths, but the level has remained similar since the turn of the century; in 2000 one woman every five days was killed by her male partner.

In November there was the case of the woman in Pollensa killed by her octogenarian husband. It was a case that bordered on the bizarre; an old man running over his wife with a car. Another woman from Pollensa, interviewed by "Ultima Hora", fled the town and the island, concerned that she would also become the victim of an elderly husband. A reassuring aspect of the interview was the "phenomenal" support she had received from various agencies, such as the Guardia Civil.

The issue of violence against women, prompted by the Pollensa case, was publicised by local politicians. President Antich, together with other members of the government and Ramon Socías, the Balearics' central government delegate, brandished red cards on the steps of the building which is the seat of the presidency. The red cards seemed a bit silly, but the message and the action were well-intentioned and correct; showing the red card to gender-related violence.

Sexist attitudes, which manifest themselves in a whole range of actions from the relatively harmless to the criminal and serious, are hardly unique to Mallorca or Spain. To what extent they endure in being widely held is difficult to say, but Spain is a country in which the role of women has changed only relatively recently. A traditional view of the Spanish male as being highly sexist does not obtain to the degree that was once the case, but attitudes don't necessarily change, especially among older sectors of society who knew how it was in Franco's time.

An indication of attitudes, those foisted onto women, came from an international survey that appeared on the website sofeminine.co.uk, one that coincided with the international day for the elimination of violence against women on 25 November. This found that some women, especially in Spain, "still believe that forced sex in a relationship is acceptable".

Successive Spanish governments have sought to legislate against sexist attitudes and in favour of women, culminating in the current government with its policies on abortion and an attempt to introduce a Europe-wide system of restraint orders and protection, across national borders, for women suffering abuse.

Legislation has also helped in bringing about equal opportunities in employment that have, as a consequence, changed traditional family roles. While there are discrepancies in pay and the existence of a "glass ceiling" (as elsewhere), women have assumed positions of importance in business. The hotel industry in Mallorca, for example, is heavily populated with women in its upper echelons, both within hotel chains and hotel federations. Yes, a number are daughters, so family tradition still prevails, but you don't get to head such powerful organisations without being capable, family ties or no family ties.

And as in business, so also in politics. The Balearics tourism minister is a woman, the president of the Council of Mallorca is a woman and her predecessor was Maria Munar. Equality is everywhere now, as Munar has joined the male ranks in being caught up in corruption charges.

Despite the violence statistics, there is an altogether healthier respect for women and for their roles in society. This healthy respect still needs some work though. And the seeking of sexual favours, whether proven or not, has no role to play.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.