Camino Blocktober – from South Africa to Spain, against gender-based violence.
Summary of discussion with Antonio, UGT Asturias – Oviedo, 30 September 2026
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| “More than 1,000 women murdered (and they are not all represented here). Less sexism + more equality = less violence.” This banner at UGT Asturias captures much of what Antonio spoke about in our interview: remembering women killed by gender-based violence, challenging the attitudes and inequalities that sustain it, and recognising that greater equality is part of preventing violence. |
As part of our Camino Blocktober initiative, we met Antonio, a representative of UGT (Union of General Workers) Asturias, in Oviedo on 30 September, the day before beginning our Camino Primitivo. The purpose of the discussion was to learn about the experience of gender-based violence in Spain and Asturias.
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| Antonio and Lala |
We explained that Blocktober is a Cape Town-based movement against gender-based violence, and that during October people walk, run, cycle and swim in solidarity with survivors and to raise awareness and funds.
Our Camino Primitivo from Oviedo to Santiago is intended to create small connections of international solidarity between organisations and individuals responding to gender-based violence.
Antonio welcomed the exchange. He provided us with information and material relating to equality and support for women and offered to pass information about Camino Blocktober to the UGT Asturias colleague responsible specifically for women's issues.
The central message we took from the discussion was simple but important: protecting women from violence requires much more than responding to an immediate crisis. Safety, psychological recovery, legal protection and economic independence all need to work together if survivors are to have genuine freedom and choices.
Gender-based violence is wider than a workplace issue
Antonio explained that UGT's work extends well beyond its traditional role of representing workers. It is also involved in issues affecting women, migrants, vulnerable people and the LGTQI community, including violence and discrimination.
He emphasised that gender inequality continues to be visible in working life. Women can still earn less than men for comparable work, while many women also continue to carry a disproportionate share of unpaid household and caring responsibilities. His view was that, although there has been progress towards equality, progress remains much too slow.
Economic inequality, discrimination at work, dependence within households and violence are not separate problems; they can reinforce one another.
Remembering women killed by gender-based violence
Antonio described one particularly visible action in Oviedo. On the last Tuesday of every month, people gather outside the courthouse for a minute's silence in memory of women killed through gender-based violence.
He explained the importance of continuing to mark each death publicly, rather than allowing repeated killings to become something society simply becomes accustomed to. The action is both an act of remembrance and a public statement that violence against women must end.
The particular vulnerability of migrant women
A substantial part of Antonio's work involves migrants settling in Spain, and he spoke about the particular difficulties faced by migrant women. For some women, gender inequality, insecure migration circumstances and economic dependence overlap, making them especially vulnerable. In some instances, migration itself represents an attempt to obtain freedoms that were unavailable to them in their country.
His broader point was that violence against women takes very different forms in different countries and circumstances, but the underlying questions of power, dependence and women's ability to exercise control over their own lives are often strikingly similar.
Support available in Asturias
Antonio spoke about the network of institutions in Asturias that provide assistance to women experiencing gender-based violence. He referred particularly to the Instituto de la Mujer and Casa Malva. Casa Malva provides accommodation for women affected by gender-based violence, including women and their children who do not have somewhere safe to go. They provide comprehensive support including:
- safe accommodation;
- psychological support;
- legal and judicial assistance;
- help with employment; and
- support towards becoming economically independent.
UGT works with and alongside these institutions and refers or assists women who need such support.
Economic independence as part of escaping violence
One of the strongest areas of common ground in our discussion was the importance of economic independence.
Antonio agreed that a woman may be physically able to leave an abusive relationship, but if she has no independent income, employment prospects or means of supporting herself and her children, her choices remain severely constrained. Economic dependence can therefore become one of the mechanisms that keeps women trapped in abusive circumstances.
This closely parallels the approach of the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children. The Centre provides shelter and psychosocial support, but also places considerable emphasis on skills development, employment and entrepreneurship because economic independence is an important part of building a sustainable life after abuse.
This is also why Camino Blocktober and the wider Blocktober campaign are raising funds specifically to support the economic empowerment of survivors of gender-based violence in Cape Town.
A wider international concern
Antonio also placed gender-based violence within a wider international context. We discussed increasing hostility towards women, hate speech and political currents that can undermine progress on equality and human rights.
The discussion reinforced the idea behind our Camino: while the social and institutional circumstances in Spain and South Africa are very different, violence against women is not a problem confined by national borders. There are important differences in scale, resources and support systems, but there are also strong common themes — inequality, economic dependence, discrimination, vulnerability and the need for society to refuse to normalise GBV.
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You can watch the full video interview with Antonio here.
Read more about Blocktober here blocktober.co.za
Read more blog posts https://stepsforsaartjie.blogspot.com/2025/10/read-other-steps-for-saartjie-blogs.html?m=1
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