Extremadura’s request to extend the implementation period of the 24-Hour Comprehensive Care Centers
María del Ara Sánchez Vera, Secretary General of Equality and Conciliation, requested at the Sectoral Equality Conference that the European Union be urged to extend the deadline for the implementation of the 24-Hour Comprehensive Care Centers for Victims of Sexual Violence. This petition seeks to extend the deadline beyond December 31 of this year.
Difficulties and justification of the request
The Extremaduran government justified this request due to the difficulties faced by autonomous communities, such as Extremadura, which have had to start from scratch due to the lack of execution of the funds allocated to these projects. Furthermore, the territorial extension and geographical dispersion of Extremadura have led to the creation of four centers in Badajoz, Cáceres, Mérida and Plasencia, despite the fact that the European Union only required the creation of two, one per province.
The importance of comprehensive care in rural areas
According to the Secretary of Equality, Extremadura is an eminently rural region and it is the responsibility of the public authorities to provide all possible resources to any woman who may be a victim of gender violence or sexual violence, even in the most remote towns. Since November of last year, significant efforts have been made to launch the four crisis centers.
The need for an extension and the financial challenges
The general secretary also justified the need for the extension due to the lack of time and the possible problems that could arise, such as the possibility of a tender being void. This could lead to difficulties in paying the centers’ technical staff and basic supplies, which are not covered by the Recovery and Resilience Facility funding. The Sectoral Conference reported that the autonomous communities will be able to accumulate the unexecuted funds of the State Pact for the next budgetary year and use them to finance personnel expenses, as long as they do not exceed 40 percent.
Allocation of funds and contribution from Extremadura
At the Sectoral Conference, the distribution criteria and allocation of funds corresponding to each autonomous community were approved. In the case of Extremadura, the allocation is similar to last year, around 17 million euros, due to the extension of the General State Budgets.
