SCS Identifies 700 Women as Victims of Gender-Based Violence

Nearly 1,100 health professionals from all care areas have completed accredited training to apply the protocol

The Canary Islands Government’s Health Department joins the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, observed each 25 November, by highlighting that the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) has tools and protocols aimed at early detection and assistance for gender‑based violence and sexual aggression in all its forms.

Gender‑based violence is recognised as a violation of women’s human rights and fundamental freedoms. In 1998, the World Health Organization classified it as a high‑prevalence public‑health problem with serious consequences for the health of women and their children.

The phenomenon manifests in many ways, not only within intimate or former‑partner relationships. It also includes sexual assaults—with or without rape—by non‑partner aggressors, female genital mutilation, trafficking for sexual exploitation, cyber‑harassment, violence against sexual and reproductive rights, among others.

In line with the Canary Islands Government’s commitment to combat this scourge, the SCS has developed and implemented several protocols that standardise health‑care actions to facilitate detection, protection and care for women who are victims of sexist violence.

Protocol for Primary Care

The Detection and Health‑Care Protocol for Gender Violence in Primary Care was introduced in the autonomous community in April 2024, accompanied by training for the various professional profiles within primary‑care teams.

• The protocol adopts a gender‑sensitive, multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach.
• It establishes uniform guidelines for early detection of violence perpetrated by a partner or former partner, as well as for assessment and intervention, in line with Ministry of Health recommendations.

Active involvement by primary‑care professionals has led to the detection of 382 women victims of gender violence in 2024 and 318 in the first ten months of 2025, totalling 700 women identified since the protocol’s launch.

Any health or social‑work professional in primary‑care teams can apply the protocol through the Electronic Health Record, either by using the WAST questionnaire or by conducting a clinical interview based on suspicion indicators and vulnerability criteria.

The protocol is applicable to women aged 15 years and older, whether during routine consultations or at the first opening of an electronic health record. It also activates when a woman seeks care for physical, psychological or non‑rape sexual injuries. In cases of sexual assault with rape, care is provided at the designated referral hospital.

Since implementation, 1,093 professionals have completed the accredited training, a programme that will continue through 2026.

The protocol document includes:

• Generic concepts and definitions needed to understand the phenomenon and its dynamics.
• The most common presentations and care for situations of special vulnerability.
• Health impacts on women and their children.
• The role of health personnel, obstacles to identification or intervention, and barriers that prevent women from recognising themselves as victims and seeking help.

Protocol for Women Victims of Sexual Aggression

The SCS also operates a Protocol for the Care of Women Victims of Sexual Aggression, which standardises multidisciplinary response in hospital emergency and gynecological services for suspected rape. It contains a specific section for cases where chemical submission is suspected.

• After the initial emergency assessment, the health protocol is activated and, via 112, judicial, police and specialised women‑support resources are mobilised.

The current protocol, dated December 2020, is being updated to reflect legislative changes introduced by Organic Law 10/2022 of 6 September (comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom) and the 2023 National Health System Sexual Violence Protocol.

Data on protocol application are drawn from injury reports issued by SCS hospitals. In the hospital setting, 206 injury reports were recorded in 2024 for sexual aggression with rape, and 159 (provisional) in 2025 so far, underscoring the importance of coordinated health, judicial and security responses.

The protocol outlines all required actions:

• Reception in a private, confidential, respectful and safe environment.
• Initial assessments to rule out urgent pathology.
• Specific examinations performed jointly by a gynecologist and a forensic medicine specialist, including detailed anamnesis, gynecological examination and sample collection.
• Joint execution of these steps prevents revictimisation.

A notable addition is the inclusion of specific sample collection when chemical submission is suspected.

Addressing Violence in Childhood and Adolescence

A Health‑Care Protocol for Addressing Violence in Childhood and Adolescence was drafted by a multidisciplinary team, promoted by the General Directorate of Care Programs, in collaboration with the Court for Violence against Children and Adolescents. The project also involved members of the Canary Islands Emergency and Security Coordination Center (1‑1‑2), the General Directorate for Child and Family Protection, the Canary Islands Institute for Equality, and the island governments.

The document aims to:

• Establish guidelines for health‑service response when violence is suspected in a minor.
• Define communication and coordinated action pathways with other institutions, including municipal social services, the General Directorate for Child and Family Protection, island governments, judicial bodies, the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and law‑enforcement agencies.