Palma refuge helps 329 women and children flee abuse

Palma’s refuge for victims of violence against women supported 329 people in 2025, up 5.1% on the previous year. They included 174 women and 153 children. Palma City Council said on Friday that 72% of admissions were emergencies, often forcing women to leave home with only essential belongings.

The refuge has 117 residential places, and nearly one in five women reached it without being sent by another service. Before entering, 85% had been living with their abuser.

Housing blocks a fresh start

Finding a home is one of the biggest barriers for women trying to leave violent relationships and live independently. Toni Colom, the council’s equality technician, said 92% of users had no income above the interprofessional minimum wage.

Most women supported by the service were aged between 18 and 44. About one third were Spanish, while women from Latin America were particularly well represented among other users. Colom said a lack of relatives or friends able to offer somewhere to stay can make it harder to leave.

Psychological abuse affected 80% of the women supported, while 64% had experienced physical violence. Among children arriving with their mothers, 82% had directly experienced psychological violence, 46% physical violence and 12% violence during the perinatal period.

Average stay reaches 158 days

The average stay at the service in 2025 was 158 days. Women with children in their care stayed for an average of 179 days, compared with 154 days for women without children in their care.

Although the refuge helped more people than in 2024, stays were slightly shorter. The average stay was still 39% longer than in 2022.

Councillor Lourdes Roca said every emergency case received a response on the same day. Cases not requiring urgent action waited no more than 72 hours. In 2026, Palma City Council plans to raise the care-service budget by 60% and the refuge budget by 35% to improve support for women and their children.

Topics: Social affairs · Politics · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com