A man in Spain convicted of violent crimes against two women has changed his name and sex marker in an apparent bid to seek clemency from the government on the basis of his newfound gender identity.
Both women have described Antonio as a “psychopath, manipulative, and very intelligent.” They have described their abuse as having been physical, psychological, and verbal.
Within months of the legislation’s passing, multiple cases have already emerged out of Spain in which violent males have taken to changing their names and gender markers in an effort to get preferential treatment by the justice system.
Last fall, a man who beat his female partner for opposing his transition successfully avoided charges of sex-based violence by legally changing his identification to “female” and adopting a woman’s name. Núria González López, the legal advisor for the victim, told Reduxx at the time: “Women’s safety appears to be less important than men’s feelings.”
In July, a sadistic man who bludgeoned his cousin to death before sexually desecrating her corpse requested transfer to a women’s prison after altering his identification and claiming to be female. Lorena Robaina, formerly known as Jonathan de Jesús, is currently serving 38 years in prison for the sick crime.
Most recently, it was revealed that a violent male convict who was transferred to a women’s prison after claiming to be transgender had reportedly impregnated a female inmate at the Alicante Cumplimiento Penitentiary Center in the Fontcalent region. The inmate was originally detained in the men’s ward of the Alicante prison for repeated violent criminal convictions, including kidnapping and robbery.
The courts do not treat women differently from men (more leniently) in the ordinary course of criminal prosecution. The notion that women are treated ‘less harshly’ than men does not follow. The reason fewer women than men are in prison is because women commit (generally) crimes of lesser scale. Women are in fact more harshly treated, being sent to prison for crimes which would not send men to prison – offences relating to exploitation through being prostituted, shoplifting, minor drug offences, social security ‘fraud’. Women do kill, yes (domestic ‘partners’) – and are more likely to be convicted of murder whilst men who kill domestic partners or ex-partners are more likely to be convicted of manslaughter. Women can be convicted for rape and some have been (as accomplices or depending on jurisdictional definition of rape, for rape itself) – but certainly have not been treated leniently.
Therefore it is odd that men who adopt transgender identity are treated less harshly because of this – although there does appears to be some evidence that this is so – an article some months ago where the judge was quoted as taking such an approach. The courts need to consider carefully their approach in such cases rather than introduce a stereotype that covers transgender but does not cover women who are not transgender – that is, lenient treatment in the criminal justice system. They also need to address the crime itself rather than be focused on a matter that does not, one would think, change the nature, reality or impact of the crime itself.
Perhaps the transgender community needs to consider its position on these cases..