If you are arrested for gender violence, the police must release you or bring you before a judge within the time strictly necessary and, at most, within 72 hours (art. 17.2 of the Spanish Constitution and art. 520 of the Criminal Procedure Act, LECrim). You have the right to a lawyer, to remain silent, to an interpreter, to have a relative informed and to a medical examination. You will be taken to the Gender Violence Section (Sección de Violencia sobre la Mujer), which may release you with or without conditions, remand you in custody or send the case to a fast-track trial.
Being arrested for gender violence is one of the most bewildering situations anyone can go through, and the same goes for their family, who often do not know where they are or what will happen. Here we explain what happens until the judge decides and what time limits the law sets. You are protected by the presumption of innocence: being arrested does not mean being convicted.
Why the arrest happens
In gender violence cases, arrest usually follows a complaint, an emergency call or a police call-out to the home. It is also common when someone reports a breach of a restraining order, which is the offence of breach (quebrantamiento, art. 468 of the Criminal Code, Código Penal, CP). The police draw up a report (atestado) with the statements, the medical report if there is one and their risk assessment, and send it to the court together with the arrested person.
This article deals only with arrest in gender violence cases, which has its own rules: the competent court is not the ordinary duty court but the Gender Violence Section. If you are unsure whether your case is gender violence or domestic violence, read about the differences between gender violence and domestic violence.
How long you can be held in the cells
The rule is set out in the Constitution and in procedural law: detention may not last longer than the time strictly necessary to establish the facts and, in any event, the detainee must be released or brought before a judge within a maximum of 72 hours (art. 17.2 CE and art. 520.1 LECrim). The 72 hours are a limit, not the normal length.
| Stage | Legal time limit | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Police custody | The time strictly necessary; maximum 72 hours | Art. 17.2 CE; art. 520.1 LECrim |
| Lawyer’s arrival at the police station | Maximum 3 hours from receiving the instruction | Art. 520.5 LECrim |
| Decision on a habeas corpus application | 24 hours from the order opening the proceedings | Art. 7 LO 6/1984 |
| Hearing on remand in custody | Within 72 hours of being brought before the judge | Art. 505.2 LECrim |
| Protection order hearing | Maximum 72 hours from the application | Art. 544 ter.4 LECrim |
Your rights as a detainee
From the very first moment you must be informed in writing, in plain language and in a language you understand, of the facts you are accused of and of your rights (art. 520.2 LECrim). These include:
- Remaining silent, not answering some questions, or giving a statement only before the judge.
- Not incriminating yourself or pleading guilty.
- Appointing a lawyer of your choice or, if you do not, being assisted by a duty lawyer (abogado de oficio), and speaking to them in private before giving any statement (art. 520.6.d).
- Accessing the essential parts of the case file in order to challenge the detention.
- Having a relative or a person of your choice informed of your arrest and where you are being held, and your consulate if you are a foreign national.
- A free interpreter if you do not speak or understand Spanish.
- Examination by the forensic doctor or, failing that, by another public doctor.
- Applying for free legal aid.
No officer may recommend a particular lawyer to you (art. 520.5).
Habeas corpus
If you believe your detention is unlawful, because there are no grounds for it, it is being prolonged without justification or your rights are not being respected, you can apply for habeas corpus so that a judge immediately reviews your situation (art. 17.4 CE). You do not need a lawyer to apply, and your spouse or partner, children, parents or siblings can also apply (LO 6/1984, art. 3). The judge must decide within 24 hours.
Being brought before the judge
Once the police report is complete, the police take you to the Gender Violence Section (formerly the gender violence court). When it is not possible to bring you before it, for example outside its sitting hours, you go before the duty court solely so that it can decide on your personal situation, and the case then continues in the specialist section (art. 797 bis LECrim).
At court, generally:
- You give a statement as a suspect (investigado), assisted by your lawyer. You may also decline to give a statement.
- The complainant and, where applicable, the witnesses give statements. If she is your partner or former partner, she may rely on the exemption from testifying under art. 416 LECrim.
- The forensic doctor may be involved.
- The protection order hearing, if one has been requested, is held at the same time as the hearing on your personal situation.
What the judge can decide
| Decision | What it means |
|---|---|
| Release without conditions | You are released and remain at the court’s disposal while the case continues. |
| Release with a restraining order | A ban on approaching or contacting the complainant and, where applicable, on living in or going to certain places (art. 544 bis LECrim). |
| Protection order | Criminal and civil measures: use of the home, custody, contact and maintenance. If there are minor children exposed to the violence, the law provides for contact to be suspended unless a reasoned decision says otherwise (art. 544 ter.7). |
| Remand in custody | Exceptional. It may be ordered to prevent you from acting against the victim, and in that case the general two-year sentence threshold does not apply (art. 503.1.3.º c LECrim). |
| Fast-track trial | If the facts fit, the case proceeds as urgent proceedings (diligencias urgentes) and may end with a plea agreement (conformidad) with a one-third reduction, or with a trial within fifteen days. |
| Preliminary proceedings | If more evidence is needed, the investigation continues through the ordinary route (diligencias previas). |
If the case goes to a fast-track trial, we explain each stage in our guide to the fast-track gender violence trial in Alicante, and how we handle these proceedings in fast-track gender violence trials.
Important: if you are released with a restraining order, comply with it to the letter from that very moment, even if she is the one who messages you or comes looking for you. The measure remains in force until the court changes it, and breaching it carries a prison sentence of six months to one year (art. 468.2 CP). If you need to collect your belongings from the home, ask through your lawyer. More information in restraining orders in gender violence cases.
What the family can do
- Contact a lawyer they trust. The appointment is made by the detainee, but the lawyer can contact the police station and the Bar Association so that the instruction gets through.
- Ask where he is being held. The detainee has the right to have whoever he chooses informed of his arrest and place of custody.
- Prepare documents and medication: identification, medical reports and details of work or ties to the area (arraigo), which are useful when asking for release.
- Apply for habeas corpus if there are signs of unlawful detention.
- Do not contact the complainant to ask her to withdraw the complaint. Trying to influence a complainant or witness through violence or intimidation is an offence (art. 464 CP) and it also damages the defence.
Arrested for gender violence in Alicante
In Alicante, following LO 1/2025, the case is heard by the Gender Violence Section of the Court of First Instance (Sección de Violencia sobre la Mujer del Tribunal de Instancia), located, according to the Generalitat Valenciana, at Avenida Aguilera, 53 (03007). Outside its sitting hours, the detainee goes before the duty court solely to decide on his personal situation.
Our firm attends arrests 24 hours a day. We go to the police station, speak to you in private before any statement, review the police report and prepare the hearing before the judge with the evidence of ties to the area that can help avoid harsher measures. Celeste Pérez Bleda has more than 20 years’ experience in criminal law and has assisted more than 800 detainees, and our team will assist you in English. If a case is already open, it is worth reading what to do if you have been reported for gender violence; and if you are looking for a defence, this is how we approach the defence of men accused of gender violence.
Frequently asked questions
How long can I be held for gender violence?
The time strictly necessary for the enquiries and, at most, 72 hours, under article 17.2 of the Constitution and article 520.1 of the Criminal Procedure Act. Before that period runs out, the police must release you or bring you before the judge. If the Gender Violence Section is not sitting, you will go before the duty court solely to decide on your personal situation.
Do I have to give a statement at the police station?
No. Article 520 LECrim gives you the right to remain silent, not to answer some questions and to give a statement only before the judge. You also have the right to speak to your lawyer in private before any statement. The sensible approach is to decide after talking to your lawyer and finding out what the police report contains, because anything you say may be used in the proceedings.
Can my family choose a lawyer if I am arrested?
Your family can contact a lawyer they trust to look into your situation, but the appointment is made by the detainee, who is free to choose (art. 520.5 LECrim). If you do not appoint anyone, or the lawyer chosen cannot attend, the Bar Association appoints a duty lawyer. The lawyer must attend the place of detention within a maximum of three hours of receiving the instruction.
Can I be remanded in custody for gender violence?
It is possible, though exceptional. Article 503 LECrim allows remand in custody to prevent the suspect from acting against the victim, especially if she is his partner or former partner, and in that case the offence does not need to carry a sentence of two years or more. The judge can only order it at a hearing with a lawyer present, at the request of the prosecutor or the prosecution, within 72 hours of the detainee being brought before the court.
Can I go home after leaving court?
It depends on what the judge orders. If you are made subject to a restraining order in respect of the complainant, or she is granted use of the home, you cannot go back even if it is your home and even if she allows you to, because breaching the measure is an offence (art. 468 CP). To collect clothes or documents, ask the court through your lawyer, and it may authorise it.
If you or a family member have been arrested for gender violence in Alicante, every hour counts. Message us on WhatsApp at 607 449 491 (24 hours): we go to the police station and stay with you until the judge decides. Our team will assist you in English. You can see how we work in legal assistance for people detained for gender violence.
Legal basis and sources
- Spanish Constitution (art. 17)
- Criminal Procedure Act (arts. 416, 503, 505, 520, 544 bis, 544 ter and 797 bis)
- Organic Act 6/1984 regulating habeas corpus proceedings
- Criminal Code (arts. 464 and 468)
- Organic Act 1/2025 on measures for the efficiency of the Public Justice Service
- Generalitat Valenciana: gender violence courts in the province of Alicante
