A Spanish man has been sentenced to a year in jail for assaulting his wife during a TikTok live stream.
Despite the victim declining to file a police complaint, the court found the man guilty of violence against women and imposed a ban on him coming within 300 metres of his wife or communicating with her for three years.
The incident occurred during a TikTok “battle” in which the wife was competing against three men. The man was seen slapping his wife, causing her to burst into tears.
The court ruled that the man had assaulted his wife publicly, with the intention of undermining her physical integrity and humiliating her. The woman had refused to press charges and declined to testify against her husband.
However, the court noted that police had previously been called to the couple’s home because of disputes between them, which demonstrated “continued mistreatment”.
The Spanish government has made combating domestic violence a priority, with measures including the establishment of special courts, free legal aid for victims and a hotline that does not appear on phone bills.
