An individual previously convicted of gender-based violence, who legally changed their gender marker from male to female after being released from prison, has been arrested again in Benidorm for assaulting their current girlfriend.
Because the legal change from male to female was processed after the individual served their sentence, the case is currently being handled by an investigating court as a case of domestic violence between two women, rather than by the specialised Violence Against Women unit. Specific legislation against gender-based violence establishes a distinct penal and procedural framework for assaults committed by men against their female partners or ex-partners, sometimes carrying more severe penalties. Despite this procedural distinction, the court did issue a protection order for the victim. However, even though the individual who changed their gender claimed the assault was mutual, no protective measures have been taken for them.
Since the approval of the Trans Law, several cases have emerged that the courts themselves have deemed suspicious, suggesting potential attempts to circumvent legislation against gender-based violence. Last July, the Provincial Court of Zaragoza ordered a lower court to investigate the legal gender change of an abuser to assess the potential for legal fraud, noting that the victim’s rights and comprehensive protection were at stake. Furthermore, this same week, another Supreme Court ruling was issued in a case in Castellón, determining that a legal gender change does not have retroactive effect to overturn a prior conviction for gender-based violence. That ruling closes the door on evading convictions through a legal gender change after the fact.
The defence in the Benidorm case dismisses allegations of fraud, arguing that the two situations are not comparable. Lawyer Francisco González, who represents the detained person, explained that in the Castellón case, the sex change occurred after the crime. In this instance, he stated that the change took place two years prior, meaning it would have to be proven that it was done specifically to commit the assault. He argued that nobody changes their sex to commit a crime two years later, especially given that the couple did not even know each other at the time of the legal change. He also considered that discrimination had occurred because, despite his client’s claim of having also suffered an assault at the hands of the girlfriend, no precautionary measures were taken on their behalf, adding that after a sex change, there cannot be first-class and second-class women.
The incident took place in Benidorm at approximately 8.22 p.m. on 12th August, when the Local Police were alerted that a person was assaulting a woman on Avenida Ciudad Deportiva, near the petanque club. The victim told officers that she was in a café with her partner when he demanded her mobile phone. When she refused, he slapped her and threw the phone to the ground.
The attack continued outside the establishment, where the assailant grabbed her hair, threw her to the ground, broke her glasses, and kicked her several times. According to the police report, during the attack, the victim pleaded for him to stop hitting her but received a reply threatening her life. A witness walking a dog intervened, which caused the attacker to stop and flee in a motor vehicle.
Believing they were searching for a man, officers began taking a statement from the victim until the suspect returned to the location in a vehicle. When the suspect identified themselves, officers discovered that although the person under investigation still uses a male name on their national identity card, the document officially states their sex as female following a legal change some time ago.
The arrested person told police that she had also been assaulted and intended to file a complaint, though the police report emphasises that she had no visible injuries and no witnesses corroborated her account. Given the legal status of the suspect, officers proceeded with an arrest for an alleged crime of domestic violence between two women. Officers noted that once at the station, the arrested person raised no objection to a male officer conducting a search prior to placement in holding cells.
Upon checking official records, officers discovered the individual had a prior record of gender-based violence, having served time in prison for assaulting a former wife. It was whilst serving that prison sentence that the individual decided to legally change their gender identity from male to female under the Trans Law.
During her statement to police, the victim stated that throughout their fifteen-month relationship, she had never heard her partner express feeling like a woman. She claimed her partner had told her that prison psychologists advised the gender change, though these were details she only knew from what her partner had said. The arrested individual maintains that the gender reassignment was carried out at the suggestion of prison psychologists after listening to their concerns.
