Gender Violence Lawyer in Madrid
If you have been arrested following a report of gender-based violence or you have a hearing before the Court for Violence Against Women, what is decided in the first few hours shapes the rest of the case. Do not give a statement without a lawyer by your side. We will take your call ourselves, at any hour. 24-hour direct line: 681 256 507.
Gender violence lawyer in Madrid, available 24 hours a day
A report of gender-based violence sets in motion a very fast procedure with precautionary measures that can change your life from day one, and what is decided during the investigation stage carries more weight than the trial itself. We are criminal defense lawyers in Madrid and we defend the investigated party and the accused in gender-based violence proceedings before the Courts for Violence Against Women and the Criminal Courts of Madrid, where protection orders and other precautionary measures are decided. When instructed by the injured party, we act as private prosecution. We handle your case ourselves, from start to finish.
How we act in gender-based violence proceedings in Madrid
These are the three fronts on which we work in a gender-based violence case.
Protection and restraining order
Defense at the hearing where the protection order and restraining order are decided. What is agreed there shapes the rest of the proceedings, the arrangements regarding the children and the use of the family home.
Defense of the investigated party and the accused against the charges brought by the Public Prosecutor for ill-treatment, injuries, threats, coercion or breach of a protection order, including defense against false accusations and appeals against precautionary measures.
Representation of the victim
When instructed by the injured party, we act as private prosecution in defense of her rights. For professional ethics reasons, we never represent both the victim and the investigated party in the same case.
What we do if you are arrested for gender-based violence
If you are arrested following a report of gender-based violence, what you do in the first few hours affects the whole case. This is what we do with you from the moment you call:
We take your call.
We identify the police station, the content of the report and the procedural situation, and we set the defense in motion at that very moment.
We give you initial guidance.
You have the right to remain silent and not to sign anything until you have spoken with your lawyer. We explain this to you before any procedural step.
We go to the police station in person.
A partner travels to the police station or to the Court for Violence Against Women, whether in Madrid city or in the Henares Corridor.
We speak with you privately.
In a private consultation, before you make any statement, we prepare with you your position before the judge and the precautionary measures hearing.
We assist you at the hearing.
We assist you during your statement and at the hearing on the protection order, and we contest the precautionary measures and pre-trial detention when they are proposed.
If you are arrested for gender-based violence, we activate detainee assistance immediately, handled by us 24 hours a day. Madrid capital, the Henares Corridor and throughout Spain.
Lawyer for protection orders and restraining orders in Madrid
A report of gender-based violence leads, in most cases, to an urgent hearing at which the court considers a protection order. It can include several measures at once:
- Restraining order and no-contact order. An order barring approach and communication with the complainant.
- Removal from the family home. The removal of the person investigated from the family residence.
- Provisional civil measures. Concerning child custody, visitation arrangements and use of the family home.
It is not automatic: the defense must challenge the legal basis for the measure, propose less burdensome alternatives, and put forward the circumstances that advise against adopting them. Breaching an order already issued is a criminal offence in itself, so its scope must be understood and respected from the very first minute.
Criminal defense for domestic abuse, injuries and habitual mistreatment
Violence against women has its own legal framework: the comprehensive law against gender-based violence, which created the Gender Violence Courts. On the criminal side, the most common charges are:
- One-off abuse or minor injuries. A single incident, not requiring medical treatment.
- Habitual mistreatment. A sustained pattern of behaviour over time within the family setting.
- Additional offences. Threats, coercion, and breach of a sentence or precautionary measure.
The precise legal classification of the facts, and how they are proven, is what determines the outcome of the proceedings.
Lawyer for defense against false accusations
Not every report corresponds to an actual offence, and the defense starts with the evidence:
- The evidence we work with. Medical reports, messages, geolocation data, witness testimony and inconsistencies in the account; where applicable, we raise the exemption from the duty to testify.
- When the accusation is false. We assess claims for false accusation and for staging an offence, which can be pursued after a dismissal or an acquittal.
Accusing someone of gender-based violence when the facts are not true also carries criminal consequences.
24-hour assistance for those detained for gender-based violence
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
Penalties for gender-based violence and additional consequences
A conviction for gender-based violence offences carries penalties and accessory consequences that go beyond imprisonment:
- Occasional ill-treatment or minor injuries: six months to one year in prison, or community service, with disqualification from exercising parental authority.
- Habitual ill-treatment: six months to three years in prison, with deprivation of the right to possess weapons.
- Threats and coercion in the context of gender-based violence, with its specific aggravating circumstance.
- Breach of a restraining order or of the sentence, as an offence in itself.
In addition to the sentence, a restraining order, a no-contact order, supervised release and effects on child custody may also apply.
Courts for Violence Against Women with jurisdiction in Madrid
Gender-based violence cases are investigated by the Courts for Violence Against Women and, at the trial stage, by the Criminal Courts or the Provincial Court of Madrid depending on the penalty. In Madrid city, on-duty proceedings are concentrated at Plaza de Castilla. We also handle the judicial districts of the Henares Corridor (Alcalá de Henares, Arganda del Rey, Coslada), which have their own Courts for Violence Against Women. Our office at Goya 20 is a short distance from the main courts in the city centre.
A criminal defense lawyer of your own choosing instead of a duty lawyer
In a gender-based violence case, duty legal assistance covers the basic procedure, but the process moves quickly and precautionary measures are decided within hours. Choosing your own lawyer means that the same firm reviewing your file is the one that answers your call, prepares your court appearance with you, and attends the hearing. No paralegal in between and no different lawyer each day: we handle your case ourselves, from start to finish.
How we handle a gender-based violence case
From the first call after an arrest or a summons through to a final judgment and, where applicable, an appeal, we work every gender-based violence case using the same method.
First contact
We attend to you directly, by phone or in person, even outside office hours. We identify the procedural situation and set up the defense before the first statement is taken.
Case analysis
We review the police report, the medical report on injuries, messages, geolocation data, witness testimony and criminal record, and identify inconsistencies in the account of events.
Strategy and preparation
We prepare arguments on the grounds for pre-trial detention and the protection order, propose alternative measures, and design the evidence strategy. We prepare every stage together with you.
Defense in court
We defend you at the fast-track trial or in the abbreviated proceedings before the Criminal Court, and we file appeals before the Provincial Court of Madrid when appropriate.
Frequently asked questions about gender-based violence in Madrid
Can a restraining order be issued automatically?
It is not automatic. A protection order requires an objective situation of risk and a hearing at which the defence can object, propose less onerous measures and submit evidence. What is argued at that hearing shapes months of proceedings.
How is the victim's statement assessed as the sole evidence?
When a conviction would rest solely on the complainant’s statement, the Supreme Court requires three conditions: absence of subjective lack of credibility (no prior resentment or improper motive), persistence in the accusation (an account with no essential contradictions, maintained consistently over time) and plausibility corroborated by external evidence, such as medical reports, witnesses, messages or geolocation data. Challenging each of these requirements is the core of the defence.
Can I take action against a false accusation of gender-based violence?
Yes. When a complaint is objectively false, following dismissal or acquittal an action may be brought for making a false accusation or fabricating an offence. We assess this together with you, evidence in hand.
What happens if the restraining order is breached?
Breaching a restraining or no-contact order is an offence in itself, even if it is the complainant herself who initiates the contact. That is why it is essential to understand its exact scope from the very first moment and not take any risks.
Can you represent the victim instead of the person under investigation?
If instructed by the injured party, we act as private prosecution in defence of her rights. Our cases are always kept strictly separate: as a matter of professional ethics, we never represent both the victim and the person under investigation in the same case.
Our office at Goya 20, Madrid
Estudio Jurídico Cervantes & Gª-Escribano
Book an initial assessment or call us directly. We see clients at Goya 20, by phone and by video call, with the confidentiality inherent to professional practice.
- Calle Goya 20, 1st Floor Left · 28001 Madrid
- 681 256 507 · 24 hours, every day
- [email protected]
- Monday to Friday · 9:00 am – 7:00 pm (assistance to detainees 24/7)
Call a gender-violence lawyer in Madrid
A gender-violence case is decided in its earliest stages: the first statement, the precautionary measures hearing and the evidence requested. The sooner you call us, the more room we have to act. We assist clients directly, in Madrid and throughout Spain. Call us on 681 256 507.
