Almost half of young people in Spain say they endured psychological violence as children or teenagers, according to a new government-backed study that uncovers what authorities call a “structural problem” of abuse and neglect across the country.
The survey found that 48% of respondents reported experiencing psychological harm such as intimidation, control or disrespect, 40.5% experienced physical violence and one in three were victims of sexual violence. The findings come from interviews with 9,037 people aged 18 to 30 (2,643 men and 6,394 women), making it the most comprehensive survey of childhood and adolescent violence ever carried out in Spain.
The report, released this month by Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children and conducted by Madrid-based researcher Sigma Doss, highlights the widespread nature of the abuse and calls for urgent policy reform.
Minister for Youth and Children Sila Rego described the figures as “appalling” and said violence against minors “cannot remain private, but it must become a government issue because we have a duty to protect children and young people.”
Lego has pledged to repeat the study every two years to see if its policies to stop the problem are working.
This study complements other studies on broader social issues in Spain, such as journalist Yago de la Cierva’s “Child Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Spanish Church: A Case Study on the Origins, Methodology and Content of the Report Para Dal Luz” (2023) by the Episcopal Conference of Spain (2023).
The report says child abuse has been hidden in Spain for many years, but only recently has it been better understood. According to official data cited, 6,083 minors suffered physical or psychological abuse at home in 2017, of which 4,542 reported sexual abuse. More women than men were victims of abuse, and incidents increased among people aged 13 and older.
“Just three years later, the Uniform Registry of Child Abuse (RUMI) recorded 21,521 calls, an increase of 37.18% year-on-year,” the report said.
“These numbers represent a growing phenomenon. The Evolution of Violence report from 2009 to 2016 showed that over that eight-year period, the average increase in violence was 299%, and all types of violence were on the rise.”
The report added that “the statistics paint a bleak picture” as less than an estimated 15% of violence against children and adolescents is actually reported.
Another report in 2023, ordered by Spain’s parliament and reported by the BBC at the time, found that 200,000 children in Spain were sexually abused by Catholic clergy.
The independent commission’s 700-page report is based on responses from 800,000 people. The report concluded that more than 200,000 people (0.6% of the adult population) of Spain’s approximately 39 million people had been sexually abused by clergy as children.
“If we include allegations of abuse by church members in institutions supervised by the church, the rate rises to 1.13%, or more than 400,000 people,” the BBC report added.
