Europe | Spain | Career

Fresh abuse claims from women picking strawberries in Spain for UK market

Human-rights lawyers are warning that abuse claims by Moroccans picking fruit in Spain for UK supermarkets could amount to “state-sponsored human trafficking”. The international lawyers say Spanish authorities have a legal duty to ensure the allegations by the women – that they have faced exploitation and abuse while harvesting strawberries – are properly investigated by the courts. Two months ago, the Observer reported on the case of 10 Moroccan womenwho had fought for more than a year to have their claims of rape, exploitation and abuse, investigated by the Huelva police and

Europe | Spain | Crimes

Ridiculous: Spanish Archbishop Blames Disobedient Wives For Domestic Violence

Source: Huffington Post

A Catholic archbishop in Spain is causing controversy by implying that women are primarily to blame for domestic violence. Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez Plaza of Toledo told his congregation on Dec. 27 that domestic violence mainly occurs when a woman asks her husband for divorce, reports The Local. "Often, the macho reaction comes about because [the woman] asked for a separation," Rodriguez Plaza said in his sermon, according to The Local. He added that the majority of domestic abuse deaths occur when a man "does not accept" his partner or "rejects them for not accepting their demands."

Europe | Spain | Science

Highly educated women stop smoking if the cost goes up, reports Spanish study

Source: Science Daily

Cigarette prices and images on cigarette packets have an impact on women in terms of continuing to smoke or quitting. In fact, less educated women are more responsive to pictorial labels on cigarette packets, as revealed by a study that has analysed, for the first time, the generation differences among female smokers, a group which, despite policy measures, has not stopped growing. In Spain, smoking levels are declining among men, but this trait does not extend to women. In the face of this phenomenon, experts claim that policy measures are needed to tackle such gender disparity, in ord

Europe | Spain | Sports

FIRST FEMALE RUGBY LEAGUE MATCH IN SPAIN

Source: Women Sport Report

Custodians Madrid and Getafe Rugby will contest the first women's rugby league match in Spain, tomorrow (14/6), in Madrid. Miguel Angel Montoro, president of AERL Madrid commented, “it is an honour for Madrid to present the first female rugby league match in our country. The hard work of last months has paid off and now we have to enjoy this wonderful day.” Madrid, the second Spanish region after Valencia - where the sport was introduced by the Spanish Association of Rugby League - has opted to develop the XIII feminine at the same time as the men’s game.

Europe | Spain | Corruption

Spain’s Princess Cristina stripped of title

Source: Aljazeera

Spain's King Felipe VI has stripped his sister Princess Cristina of her title as Duchess of Palma de Mallorca in the latest move to distance the royal family from the royal as she awaits trial for tax fraud. Cristina's lawyer, Miquel Roca, said the princess had sent a letter to the king asking for the title to be removed but the palace said the king had made the decision before the letter arrived and he communicated the decision to his sister by phone Thursday. The princess has been indicted as part of a four-year probe into her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, who faces charges including money-

Europe | Spain | Politics

Spain’s Local Election Results Reshape Political Landscape

Source: The New York Times

Ada Colau, 41, was not even born when Manuela Carmena, 71, joined Spain’s underground Communist party and started her legal career by attacking labor restrictions imposed by Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator. But even if separated by a generation, Ms. Colau and Ms. Carmena both found themselves claiming similar left-wing victories by upstart candidates over Spain’s political establishment after Sunday’s regional and municipal elections. Ms. Colau, a former activist who fought housing evictions, defeated Barcelona’s mayor, Xavier Trias, which she described as a “David against G

Europe | Spain | Politics

Study: Fielding more female candidates helps political parties gain votes.

Source: MIT News

Political parties find that their fortunes improve when they put more women on the ballot, according to a study co-authored by an MIT economist. The study analyzes changes to municipal election laws in Spain, which a decade ago began requiring political parties to have women fill at least 40 percent of the slots on their electoral lists. With other factors being equal, the research found, parties that increased their share of female candidates by 10 percentage points more than their opponents enjoyed a 4.2 percentage-point gain at the ballot box, or an outright switch of about 20 votes per

Europe | Spain | Business

14-year-old girl designed, developed, and released her own mobile game

Source: Venture Beat

Crazy Block is a new free Android game available right now on Google Play. It’s also the creation of 14-year-old Spanish girl Lucia Sanchez, who taught herself how to develop a game and released it earlier this month all on her own. She is the latest example of how open tools and platforms are enabling anyone with the will to make game and find an audiences. Sanchez is from Alicante, a town in Southeast Spain. She’s a student, and — in addition to developing games — she’s into windsurfing, painting, and reading. Sanchez is also a web designer.