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The shocking rape trial that galvanised Spain's feminists - and the far right

Author: Meaghan Beatley

In: The Guardian, 2019

This 'long read' article provides a detailed account of the notorious rape of an 18-year-old woman at the Pamplona bull run festival in 2016 and the five man 'wolf pack' responsible.  It assesses the impact of the trial, which in April 2018 found the men guilty of 'sexual abuse', instead of rape, because the woman had not been violently coerced. The rape and the verdict sparked widespread anger among women, who demonstrated across the country, and journalist Cristina Fallaras tweeted about her own experiences of sexual violence and launched the hashtag #Cuentalo (tell your story). The five men were released from jail in June 2018 on bail whilst appealing their prison sentences. Beatley describes the impact on the feminist movement - police estimated 350,000 demonstrated in Madrid and 200,000 in Barcelona and many thousands in other cities and towns on International Women's Day 2019.  But the case has also mobilised the far right party Vox to attack feminists and to claim that the danger of violence against women comes from non-European immigrants.

Available online at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/23/wolf-pack-case-spain-feminism-far-right-vox