Lourdes, a fifty-year-old resident of Orio in Guipúzcoa, was a mother to an adult son and a younger teenager. Last Tuesday, May 16, her estranged husband fired at close range on a street near a playground, then took his own life. Because the perpetrator died at the scene, he cannot be prosecuted for the crime.
The Government Delegation Against Gender-Based Violence confirmed the act as a sexist crime, marking Lourdes as the 18th victim of gender-based violence for the year and the 1,202nd since the statistics began in 2003.
So far this year there have been 18 femicides, and since 2013 the number of children left orphaned by these acts totals 395.
The attacker, a 51-year-old man from Lourdes who lives in Zarauz, had no prior reports of abuse according to available records. Among the year’s femicides linked to intimate partners or former partners, three cases had documented prior complaints, representing about 16 percent, a rate lower than the long-term average of more than 20 percent.
This incident is considered the first sexist crime of the year in Euskadi, a region that has witnessed 40 women killed by current or former partners since 2003.
In May alone, three women were killed by their partners or ex-partners: Lourdes, ACM, and Maria. In addition, the Government Delegation Against Gender-Based Violence is reviewing a fourth case. Another related tragedy occurred in Torremolinos, Málaga, where a 28-year-old woman lost her life.
ask for help
The helpline HE 016 is available for victims of all forms of violence against women. It operates as a free and confidential service offering support in multiple languages and does not affect billing. Information can also be requested via email, and counseling and psychosocial care are accessible through appropriate channels. When needed, minors can reach out to a dedicated support line such as ANAR. Resources exist to assist victims of abuse who are deaf or hard of hearing through alternative contact options and accessibility tools. All services are part of the broader network of measures against gender violence, designed to provide immediate and ongoing support.