Spain’s MeToo problem goes far beyond the Rubiales scandal

The Luis Rubiales scandal is being presented in Britain as ‘The kiss that started Spain’s MeToo movement’. But, in reality, the overseas coverage of the Spanish Football Federation’s president’s kiss – and his refusal to resign – tells us more about the UK and our own ignorance than it reveals about the country we visit in vast numbers but still struggle to understand.

It’s not just that anyone with the slightest knowledge of Spain will know that it has been having multiple MeToo moments for many years – especially after the searing manada (mob) case of 2016–19, when five men were sentenced for the gang-rape of a women in Pamplona. The initially lenient sentence handed down for assault rather than rape prompted mass demonstrations and stiffer sentences for the culprits from the Supreme Court in Madrid on appeal.

Violence against women has long been a menace in a society still blighted by machismo.