The San Pedro Alcántara Feria runs from the 16th to the 21st of this month and features activities of flamenco music, street parades, traditional costumes, dancing, fairground rides and entertainment as well as lots of traditional food and drink. It’s a time of celebration for the whole community and everyone should feel at home and safe. That’s why this year a purple checkpoint will be present where you can report sexist behaviour to officials who can offer information, advice and accompaniment, while police may facilitate immediate action after assessing the situation.
Isabel Cintado, Councillor for Equality and Diversity, along with San Pedro Social Rights Advisor, Belén Villalobos, have explained that this initiative is part of a new campaign against violence, which includes workshops and conferences, with Dr. Carmen Agüera and nurse Yolanda Jiménez from the Costa del Sol Hospital teaching a class on prevention and awareness, titled Fun Without Aggression: Respect My Decision.
The goal of this campaign is ‘to promote respect for women among our young people and to enjoy the fair as safely as possible’ as detailed recently by the mayoress who said “this talk will involve participation by the San Pedro schools and institutes, and is also aimed at youth associations.”
The purple point will be staffed by technicians from the Equality and Security delegation part of the Andalusian Institute for Women (IAM), and provides a space to ‘come, listen, accompany and talk’. There will also be representatives of purple point across the feria so that anyone who is feeling intimidated, threatened or just a little out of their depth, can ask for help. They will also distribute posters, napkins and programmes to spread awareness of the campaign, which will also include the 24-hour service number of the IAM: 900 200 999.