Assignment: Spain - can an algorithm predict murder?

Assignment: Spain - can an algorithm predict murder?

Early on a Sunday morning in February in the Spanish seaside town of Benalmadena, Catalina, a 48-year-old mother of four, was killed at home – the building was set on fire. Her ex-partner was arrested and remains in custody. In January, Lina – as she was known to her family and friends – had reported her ex-partner to the police for ill-treatment and threatening behaviour. And by doing so, she became one of around 100,000 cases of gender-based violence active in Spain’s VioGen system.

VioGen is an algorithm used by the police – it’s a risk assessment tool. Based on a woman’s answers to a series of questions, it calculates the likelihood she will be attacked again so police resources can be allocated to protect those most in danger. The level of risk could be negligible, low, medium, high or extreme. Lina was recorded as being at ‘medium’ risk of a further attack by the man who was her ex-partner. Three weeks later, she was dead. VioGen’s critics are concerned about the number of women registered on the system who are then murdered by men who are former or current partners. Its champions claim that without VioGen there would be far more violence against women.

With AI in the ascendency, and governments increasingly turning to algorithms to make decisions affecting society, for Crossing Continents, Linda Pressly and Esperanza Escribano investigate the story of VioGen and domestic violence in Spain.

Jaksot(2000)

ICE in Minnesota

ICE in Minnesota

Over the past year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have become a visible force on American streets. Accused of using aggressive tactics, they often cover their faces and have cast a ...

31 Tammi 23min

Jesus in a shop doorway

Jesus in a shop doorway

*** This episode contains distressing content, including references to suicide, drug use, and sexual and violent material *** Mick Fleming turned to drugs to numb the trauma of a childhood shaped by v...

30 Tammi 26min

Hungary: The alternative to Orban

Hungary: The alternative to Orban

In April 2026, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban faces fresh parliamentary elections. He has been in power since 2010, and his party's grip on the Hungarian media and civil society means many felt...

29 Tammi 26min

Shepherd's Eye In The Sky

Shepherd's Eye In The Sky

Africa's 250 million nomadic herders, or pastoralists, are the invisible keystone of the continent's food system. They provide 50% of Africa's meat and 75% of its milk, moving livestock across vast ra...

28 Tammi 49min

Nigeria: Killings, land and cattle

Nigeria: Killings, land and cattle

On Christmas Day 2025, the US carried out missile strikes on suspected Islamist militants in Nigeria. They came after President Trump said he would intervene to protect Christians amid controversial c...

27 Tammi 29min

Mrinalini Mukherjee: Hemp sculptures

Mrinalini Mukherjee: Hemp sculptures

Art from the circle of friends, family and teachers of artist Mrinalini Mukherjee is now on show at London's Royal Academy, alongside her giant hemp sculptures. Sheetal Parmar hears about the planning...

26 Tammi 26min

US foreign policy in five doctrines

US foreign policy in five doctrines

Looking back at five big US foreign policy shifts from the Monroe doctrine in the 19th Century to the post-9/11 strategies of the Bush doctrine in the early 2000s. Justin Webb and his guests examine h...

25 Tammi 56min

Protest in the age of the 'Kill Switch'

Protest in the age of the 'Kill Switch'

In the face of widespread protests, the Iranian government ‘switched off’ the country’s access to the internet on 8th January. In Uganda, prior to recent elections, the government of president Yoweri ...

24 Tammi 26min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
i-dont-like-mondays
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
kolme-kaannekohtaa
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
aikalisa
kaksi-aitia
sita
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-nikotellen
loukussa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
lahko