Costa del Sol town sets up commission to prevent and fight hate crimes

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It follows the latest homophobic attacks this year and will involve the town hall, police, Malaga lawyer association, public prosecution service and representatives of groups, associations, educational and health centres

José Rodríguez Cámara

Torremolinos

Tuesday, 16 December 2025, 13:33 | Updated 13:51h.

One of the measures that Torremolinos town hall announced after the homophobic attacks reported in May this year was the creation of the local coordination committee against hate crime. This committee will be officially set up on 19 December, when it will hold its first meeting, with the participation of the municipal departments of equality, security and social services, the Local Police, the Malaga lawyers association, the public prosecution and representatives of groups, associations, educational and health centres.

The aim is for this team to implement actions aimed at preventing hate crimes, promoting training and awareness-raising and protecting and accompanying victims in their reporting and recovery process.

Mayor Margarita del Cid said that the role of this body, which, in principle, will meet once a year, is to react "to the growing social concern about discriminatory incidents", while at the same time responding to the "recommendation of national and European bodies to strengthen prevention and detection policies at the local level".

Additionally, the objective is to "promote institutional collaboration and coordinate efforts between different public bodies, social organisations and the community to tackle hate crimes in a comprehensive manner". "The aim is none other than to raise public awareness and denounce any act that constitutes hate crime and maintain a harmonious coexistence free of stereotypes, where people of different ideologies, beliefs, race and sexual orientation coexist," the town hall said.

Institutional coordination

Torremolinos town hall reminded residents that the national office for the fight against hate crimes of the Ministry of the Interior speaks of the importance of coordinated work between administrations. Recently, the Spanish federation of municipalities and provinces (FEMP) approved an institutional declaration addressed to town hall to defend coexistence and stop any manifestation of hate.

"Torremolinos responds to this call from its own reality, taking a step forward as a municipality," Del Cid said. "It is these characteristics that have made us a municipality of reference, so being one of the first in Andalucía to convene a round table against hate crimes was almost a natural step."

In May, when the creation of this committee was conceived, Torremolinos also announced that police presence would be increased in some areas of the town, such as Plaza de La Nogalera where one the latest homophobic attacks happened in August.