The impact of the sociocommunity on the recovery process for women in situations of gender violence: The Spanish political-regulatory framework from a regional, State and European perspective

Abstract

The fight against gender violence is one of the main challenges for society in the twenty-first century. Policies and legislation can support and promote significant changes if they consistent with the main evidence generated ny the international scientific community, as demonstrated by interventions in social work. Therefore, this article presents a review of regional, national and European regulations to support policies for citizen's involvement in preventing gender violence and supporting the recovery of women who suffer from it. Using scientific evidence that confirms the importance of the sociocommunity in the recovery of victims, an extensive review of regional, national and European legislation was conducted to examine how this fundamental variable is made explicit in these regulations and the policies designed in accordance with them. The findings support international scientific evidence and identify the following elements for the involvement of citizens in recovery processes: community participation, interconnection and collaboration, citizen training, social dialogue and solidarity networks, and the protection of the environment, which unfortunately is not widespread in the legislation subject to analysis. This article also provides recommendations based on the main strengths detected an makes proposals based on gaps identified in the laws.