The Board for the Protection of Women or Women's Protection Board (Spanish: Patronato de Protección a la Mujer) was a public institution in Francoist Spain, established in 1941 under the Ministry of Justice.[1][2]: 76 Notorious for its human rights violations, baby abductions, and brutality, the Board targeted girls and young women, confining them in reformatories as part of the broader Francoist repression. It persisted during the democratic Transition and wasn't eventually dismantled until well into the first government of Felipe González.[3][4][5][6]
During the Francoist period, this institution had closed internment centers, generally run by Catholic religious orders, which could confine girls and young women deemed 'fallen or at risk of falling', even without having committed any crime.[5][7] They could be admitted to these centers starting at age 16 through police raids, for "immoral behavior," arbitrary reports from family members and individuals ("guardians of morals"), requests from civil and religious authorities, or at the request of the women themselves or their parents.[6][8] In practice, however, girls as young as 11 were forcibly interned.[6]
The Patronato was structured into a National Board, with Franco's wife, Carmen Polo, as the honorary president, and fifty provincial boards.[9][2]: 89
In 1996, a large number of documents regarding the Board and the whereabouts of babies born in its centers went missing.[10][11][2]: 355–356
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