'Domestic Violence' Spanish Man Changes Gender to Avoid Trial 'Trick'

"Treat Me as a Woman in All Judicial Procedures"
Victim's Side Calls It a Fraud Exploiting the Gender Transition Law

A man with a history of domestic violence in Spain has been accused of changing his gender to avoid trial.

On the 22nd (local time), the British daily The Telegraph reported the story of Mr. A, who received a restraining order from the Women's Violence Court in 2014 to stay away from the victim woman.

In 2019, Mr. A violated the court's restraining order and was sentenced to 15 months in prison last year by the same court for threatening the victim again. He requested a pardon from the government and succeeded in postponing the execution of his sentence, during which time he harassed the victim again and was arrested by the police.

Spain's Women's Violence Court was first established in 2005. It specializes in cases of domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual violence committed by men against women. It provides specialized services for victims, such as protective measures like restraining orders, psychological support, and legal assistance.

However, Mr. A claimed that he changed his gender last August and demanded to be treated as a woman in all judicial procedures.

In Spain, the law related to gender transition was revised last year, allowing individuals to legally change their gender without medical opinions for psychological or lifestyle reasons.

Accordingly, the Women's Violence Court, which had previously convicted Mr. A, stated that it could no longer hear the case because the perpetrator's legal gender had changed.

Jos? Antonio Cires, the victim's lawyer, raised his voice, saying, "This is a fraud abusing the gender transition law." He explained that it is a "trick" by a man with a history of gender-based violence to avoid specific punishments by being tried in a general criminal court rather than a specialized court.

He added, "My client feels completely abandoned and said she no longer trusts the judicial system," appealing for attention.

The Spanish Ministry of Equality warned in response to requests for comment on this case that "people who change their gender to avoid a guilty verdict can ultimately be punished not only for gender-based violence charges but also for fraudulent alteration of official documents such as identification cards."

However, the Ministry of Equality added, "Among the 6,000 cases of gender changes made this year, only 0.001% have been found to be fraudulent."