Hundreds of women, joined by supporters of all ages, marched through Barcelona’s iconic Montjuïc park on Saturday. They demanded the right to walk without fear and called for safer public spaces. This protest directly responded to a violent sexual assault in the park in February, a crime that heightened vulnerability among the city’s green lung’s regular users.

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The crowd gathered at the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc around 11:00, beginning a 2.2-kilometre procession through the park. Unlike more vocal demonstrations, participants marched in relative silence, holding placards with powerful messages such as, “We fight for those without a voice,” and, “I wasn’t born a woman to die for being one.”

A Response to Violence

An assault on Friday, 13 February, around midday, catalysed the march. Reportedly, an aggressor attacked a 45-year-old woman while she walked her two dogs in the Jardins de Mossèn Costa i Llobera – the very location where Saturday’s protest concluded. Her report states the aggressor grabbed her by the neck before sexually assaulting her. The Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police force, are conducting an open investigation into the incident.

The attack deeply affected local communities, especially nearby neighbourhoods like Poble Sec, where residents often consider the sprawling park an extension of their home. As Barna.News previously reported, many Poble Sec women fear Montjuïc after assaults, altering routines to avoid specific areas or times.

A Route to Reclaim the Park

Organisers deliberately held the march during daylight hours, aiming to highlight the park’s “puntos negros,” or black spots. The route led demonstrators up the Passeig de Santa Madrona and along the Avinguda de Miramar, concluding at the gardens where the assault occurred.

Protesters and local groups argue that neglect causes these dangerous areas. Reports from betevé indicate that poor maintenance, overgrown vegetation, and isolated paths create a scenario of impunity for potential aggressors.

In response, the organising groups submitted a list of urgent demands to the Barcelona City Council, including:

  • Immediate reinforcement of lighting on paths connecting sports facilities with bus stops and FGC train stations.
  • Improved maintenance of trails and footpaths.
  • Systematic clearing of overgrown bushes and undergrowth.
  • A more effective and visible police presence in the park.

Calls for Urban Planning with a Gender Perspective

At the concluding act, speakers emphasised that Montjuïc’s safety extends beyond policing; it is fundamentally an issue of urban planning requiring a gender perspective. Poorly lit, isolated, or neglected areas effectively become off-limits to half the population, thereby restricting women’s freedom to use and enjoy their city.

The march served as a prelude to a weekend of activism across Barcelona for International Women’s Day on 8 March. It underscored a growing determination to confront individual acts of violence, as well as the systemic and environmental factors that enable them.