Texto EBAU Canarias 2018 Opción A

The Failures of Spain’s Fight Against Domestic Abuse

Ten years after Spain introduced a network of courts* specializing in domestic violence cases, experts are warning that sexist stereotypes and sexist forms of behavior persist.  In fact, last year, in the whole of Spain, sixty women were murdered – beaten to death, stabbed or burnt by partners or ex-partners – as a result of gender violence. The highest rate of victims of domestic violence is in the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands while the lowest ratio is in La Rioja. The national average is 15.2 cases per 10,000 women.
Organizations that work with victims insist on the need to eradicate sexist attitudes that remain deeply established in Spanish society and to report domestic abuse more frequently. However, a survey by the Adecco Foundation found that 91 percent of abused women failed to report violence for fear that either they or their partners would lose their job.  The foundation, which helps victims find employment, ties the number of complaints to the effects of the economic crisis. The report also revealed that 65 percent of victims did not have a job at the time of the abuse. And 81 percent responded that the best way to deal with abuse was to be financially independent.
Fortunately, the latest Interior Ministry figures show that six percent of Spanish prison inmates are serving sentences for gender violence. The president of the Domestic and Gender Violence Observatory, Ángeles Carmona, welcomes the rise in the number of criminal convictions for gender violence. “Abuse no longer enjoys impunity,” says Carmona.
Her predecessor, Inmaculada Montalbán, also applauds the change but adds that a major tool in the domestic violence law – education – has suffered setbacks in the last decade. “The best vaccine against violence is education; the justice system acts when the violence has already taken place”, she explains.  Montalbán believes that the elimination of civic education courses from the school curriculum has “deactivated” a good tool for breaking stereotypes.           

                     (322 words) Taken from different sites *courts = tribunals

1.- Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. Copy the evidence from the text. No marks will be given without the evidence. (1.5 points)

a) Education in schools is not an effective weapon to eradicate sexist abuse.
b) Gender violence crimes started a decade ago. 

c) According to statistics, women in the two Spanish archipelagos are at increased risk for domestic violence.

2.- Choose ONLY THREE of the following words and write a synonym (=), an opposite (≠), a definition or a sentence (  only one of these four)   to show that you understand their meaning in the text. Use your own words. (1.5 points)
a) –whole (line 2)

d) – to deal with  (line 13)

b) – deeply (line 7)

e) – figures (line 14)

c) – to tie (line 11)

f) – major (line 18)

3.- Read this conversation and complete your part. Write the numbers (1-8) and complete each sentence on your exam paper. (2 points)
Your friend Bob and you are going to share an apartment next year when you start university

You: We have to find an apartment. (1) _________________________________?

Bob:  In the city center near the shopping area.

You: But don’t you think we should live much closer to the Schools of Chemistry and Mathematics, where we’ll be studying.

Bob: OK. But I don’t want anything too expensive. I can’t afford it.

You: All right. And (2)_____________________________________?

Bob: I think we need at least two bedrooms; we should each have our own. That way, we’ll be able to study better. Don’t you think so?

You:  (3) ____________________________________________

Bob: And what about cleaning the flat?

You:  (4) ______________________________

Bob: I don’t agree with you. That’s not enough.

You: Really? And (5) ____________________________?

Bob: I think we should pay someone to clean it.

You:  But you’ve just said you don’t have a lot of money. (6) __________________?

Bob: True, I don’t, but cleaning is so boring!

You: Yes, but if we do the cleaning ourselves, (7) _______________________________

Bob: All right, all right.  And who’s going to do the cooking?

You: I think we should both take turns because (8)__________________________

Bob:  That’s not a bad idea.

4.- Choose only 4 of the following situations. Write what you would say in or about each one to show that you understand the context of the situation. Write between 6 and 20 words. (2 points)

1. - You have received the best mark on an exam in your Maths class. What do you say to your best friend, who failed the exam?

2. - Your Science teacher is organising activities to raise environmental awareness. Make a suggestion.

3. - Your classmates ask you for help to organise a party to celebrate the end of the academic year. Give them a polite refusal. 

4. - You’ve lost your sister’s MP4 player. Explain and apologise.

5. - Your friend has uploaded a picture of yours to Facebook without asking for permission. Complain to her/him, showing you are angry.

6. - At school, you see a student being bullied. Try to convince her/him to report it, giving her/him some advice.

5.- Write a composition of about 100-120 on ONE of the following topics. (3 points)

a) – Write an e-mail to your school newspaper editor suggesting what can be done in your school to fight against domestic abuse.

b) – Being a woman in Spain: no gender equality