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VioGén is an algorithmic system intended to help local authorities across Spain protect women and children from domestic gender violence and to help co-ordinate their activities.
The system analysed a vareity of factors including the history of violence, victim and perpetrator profiles and socio-economic indicators to evaluate the degree of risk faced by victims of gender violence and attempts to predict the likelihood of repeat attacks on the basis of a score which determines the level of protection by social sevices and law enforcement they should receive.
It is designed to standardise the questions authorities ask women when they file official complaints of abuse, aiming to treat victims fairly and offer better protection.
Launched in 2007 by Spain's Ministry of Interior, VioGén has resulted in a 25 percent reduction in repeat attacks, according to Spanish authorities.
In January 2025, the Spanish government announced it would overhaul VioGén after sustained criticism of its accuracy and effectiveness. The revamped system, VioGén 2, eliminates the 'no risk' category and requires police to input more detailed information about victims.
Predictive analytics
Predictive analytics, or predictive AI, encompasses a variety of statistical techniques from data mining, predictive modeling, and machine learning that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future or otherwise unknown events.
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The Spanish Ministry of the Interior has been reluctant to open VioGén to third-parties for review, audit or investigation, leading critics to accuse the authorities of inadequate transparency and poor accountability.
VioGén has been criticised for underestimating the risk of women being subjected to domestic abuse, resulting in anxiety and distress, physical assaults, suicides and the murder of women and children.
It has also been accused of bias against certain groups, undervaluing non-physical and other forms of psychological violence, and loss of privacy.
Eticas (2022). The Adversarial Audit of VioGén (pdf)
González-Álvarez, J.L., López-Ossorio, J.J., Urruela, C. & Rodríguez-Díaz, M. (2018). Integral Monitoring System in Cases of Gender Violence. VioGén System
López-Ossorio J.J. et al (2019). Validation and Calibration of the Spanish Police Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment System (VioGén)
Page info
Type: System
Published: March 2022
Last updated: February 2025