JOSEP LAGO / AFP
The famous Brazilian footballer Dani Alves is accused of sexual assault by a 23-year-old young woman.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE – Since Friday January 20, Dani Alves is in pre-trial detention in a prison in Barcelona. The famous Brazilian footballer is accused of rape by a young woman of 23 years. The facts allegedly took place on the night of December 30 to 31, in a nightclub in the Catalan capitalthe Sutton, which triggered the “No Callem” anti-aggression protocol allowing the arrest of the 39 year old footballer.
This device (whose name means “We are not silent” in Catalan) was set up by Barcelona City Council in 2018. Its objective is to fight against the bullying and gender-based and sexual violence in public places, including nightclubs and festivals.
It is now applied by 39 places in the city, including 25 nightclubs and eight music festivals, but also by tourist and sporting places such as the Albareda cultural center and the Olympic stadium, according to the town hall website. It is only effective in the Catalan capital.
Support by the nightclub
The protocol first provides training for all site staff wishing to apply it. Dispensed by the town hall, it includes preventive actions, indicates how to react in case of aggression or rape, how to recognize a victim and detect an aggressor.
Concretely, this device allows the care of the potential victim, by isolating him in a quiet place. A manager supports him and warns the emergency services and the authorities, according to a RFI article. The young woman who accuses Dani Alves was taken care of by Sutton staff as she was about to leave, visibly in shock.
The discotheque can also keep all the necessary evidence and hold the potential aggressor until the arrival of the police. In the case of Dani Alves, the footballer had already left the scene. But the Sutton was able to protect the VIP toilets, the place of the alleged attack, to allow the authorities to take samples. The surveillance videos were also handed over to the police.
“Only a yes is a yes”
It was only three weeks later that the footballer was taken into custody, following the opening of an investigation ” for an alleged offense of sexual assault following the complaint presented by a woman (it was filed on January 2, editor’s note) against a football player by a court in Barcelona.
If Dani Alves initially said he did not know the complainant, the footballer changed his version of the facts in front of the video evidence provided by the Sutton, according to information from RMC Sports. He admitted to having had sex with her but with consent.
The complainant says for her part that she was slapped and thrown to the ground. She accuses the player of having forced her to perform oral sex and of having penetrated her until ejaculation. The presence of sperm would have been detected on her torn dress, still according to RMC, following samples taken at the exit of the discotheque, at the Clínic hospital. Dani Alves faces up to 12 years in prison.
The protocol “No Callem” is not the only measure implemented in Spain to combat sexual violence. Since the summer of 2022, a new law dubbed “ Only a yes is a yes” introduced the obligation of explicit consent during sexual relations, implying that any sexual act without consent could be considered as rape.
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