Barcelona’s El Raval neighbourhood has joined the news coverage around the Totes som Punt Lila project by creating 12 new Purple Points to address gender violence. The initiative is rooted in local, feminist and community action, with the aim of making gender-based violence more visible in everyday neighbourhood life.
A Purple Point can be a shop, office or community facility that acts as a trusted place for awareness and support. In this project, the points, and the women involved in them, are described as Feminist Radars within their communities. The 12 spaces in El Raval are backed by neighbourhood associations, feminist and social organisations, and local businesses.
The new Purple Points are: CONVIVE Fundació Cepaim at Sant Pau, 80, ACESOP at Les Flors, 14, Centre Cívic Drassanes at Nou de la Rambla, 43, Associació Esportiva Ciutat Vella at Maria Casas Mira, 40, SOS Racisme at Maria Casas Mira, 38, Escola Mediterráneo International House at Santa Mònica, 2, Gimnàs Social Sant Pau at Les Floristes de la Rambla, 10, BV Perruqueria at Joaquín Costa, 19, Bar la Ravala at La Lluna, 1, Biblioteca Santa Pau at El Carme, 47, Òptica Univers de la Visió at Sant Pau, 119, and Herbolari Llansà at Elisabets, 18.
The project is driven by women’s groups and committees in the neighbourhoods where the points are based, with technical and political support from the Federation of Neighbourhood Associations of Barcelona, FAVB. It is designed to create safe and trusted spaces led by local women, while also promoting collective empowerment, awareness, prevention and community response to gender violence.
FAVB says the points help strengthen the network against gender violence, reinforce community ties, and make the issue visible across neighbourhood life. People at these points have basic training in gender violence and can offer a listening ear, initial support and referrals to professional resources.
The FAVB says Totes som Punt Lila grew out of the Community Process of Sisterhood in the Neighbourhoods, which began in Besòs i el Maresme in 2019. A year later, the Women’s Commission of the FAVB became a main driver of feminist engagement, with work focused on awareness, training and the role of women in the neighbourhood movement.
