If you're wondering whether what you or someone you know is going through counts as abuse under Spanish law, even though there are no visible injuries, this is worth understanding. Spanish law does not treat psychological abuse as a lesser form of violence.
What psychological abuse means
Psychological abuse is a specific form of aggression made up of intentional acts or behaviour that devalue, cause suffering, or amount to psychological aggression, leaving the victim in a state of anguish that damages their emotional balance.
The law treats it as seriously as physical violence
Spain's Criminal Code, in article 153, does not distinguish between physical and psychological violence. Legally, they are equally reprehensible, even though psychological abuse tends to get overlooked far more often.
Why it can be hard to define
One of the real difficulties with this type of abuse is defining where it begins. There is a lot of ongoing legal debate on the subject, but the general understanding is that not every hurtful comment counts as psychological violence. It has to be something that genuinely affects the person's psyche and puts their mental health at risk, whether that impact is large or small.
That difficulty compounds: if it's already hard to measure psychological harm, it's even harder to know exactly when that harm crosses into endangering someone's mental health.
It's also worth remembering that within a family or a relationship, the law already punishes behaviour that wouldn't be considered a crime outside of that context. Applying that same idea to psychological abuse is even more complex, because it's harder to draw a clear line between what should be tolerated and what should not.
What the law specifically punishes
Article 173.2 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who habitually exercises physical or psychological violence against a current or former spouse, or against someone they are or have been in a similar relationship with, even if they never lived together.
If any of this sounds familiar to your own situation, it's worth speaking with a lawyer who can look at the specifics and explain what protections and options are available to you.
