Mijas is the first municipality in the province of Malaga to sign a collaboration agreement with the Union of Andalusian Security Locksmiths (UCAS) to change the lock of a victim of gender violence who is in a situation of danger. The agreement was reached on Friday 12th, between Mijas Town Hall and UCAS, in collaboration with the Mijas Local Police and the Guardia Civil of Mijas. "It is an important agreement because it allows us to have more legal certainty when acting in cases of gender violence," said the Mayor of Mijas, Josele González (PSOE). An "indispensable help when it comes to protecting victims", added the Mayor. 

The lock change will be done completely free of charge, quickly and in the presence of the police. "By protocol, we are present at the lock change," said Ángel Blanc, the officer of the SIMA Unit of the Mijas Local Police, who explained that today, "only by the Local Police, we monitor the protection measures of 50 victims in Mijas".

Specifically, the mayor explained, the change of lock is an aid that will be provided to women with a final court sentence, a restraining order or with a mandatory report from the area of Equality. "When a person feels that they are a victim of gender violence, they will come to the Town Hall, the case will be assessed and the locks will be changed by a professional locksmith. That is the protocol," said the president of the UCAS, Juan José Luis Kaseb, who said that this collaboration with the victims of gender violence was "something we had pending as one of the objectives of the social area of the UCAS". 

Immediate response

"Many women live with their abuser and if the woman files a complaint or takes the step of going to the Women's Centre to report her situation, the lock will be changed immediately, once the situation has been verified, so that the women feel protected and safe in their own home," explained the Councillor for Equality and Diversity, Natalia Martínez (PSOE). 

"Already before the signing of this agreement, we provided this service on one occasion at the request of the Local Police, we changed the lock to a lady from Las Lagunas, the service was done free of charge and the woman was safer inside her home," said the locksmith from Mijas, Rodrigo Sebastián Goldstein, a member of this agreement.

"Hopefully we will have to use this agreement as little as possible," said the Mayor of Mijas. "From the Mijas Town Hall we will continue to promote measures to continue with the eradication of gender violence, but it is true that in a municipality as large as Mijas, with 87,000 inhabitants and such a diverse population, it is true that these are situations that can occur and we must be prepared to deal with it, and have all the necessary mechanisms," added the Mayor, who thanked the locksmith company from Mijas, adhered to this agreement, located in the Plaza de Riviera del Sol Shopping Centre, "who show their willingness to present this service to the victims".

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