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Analysis of missing persons in Spain and their relationship with poverty indicators
Fri, September 5, 5:00 to 6:15pm, Deree | Arts Center Building, Arts Center Deree 003Abstract
The study has three main objectives: to find out the characteristics of missing persons in Spain, the characteristics of repeat offenders and to analyse the relationship between poverty and disappearance. To this end, 24,078 reports provided by the National Office of Disappeared Persons were analysed, corresponding to 11,917 people who disappeared in 2023. To analyse the relationship between disappearances and poverty, some poverty indicators provided by the National Institute of Statistics were collected.
The socio-demographic profile of missing persons is characterized by the fact that they are mostly men, young, and Spanish. The foreigners who disappear are preferably from North African or Latin American countries. They also live in an autonomous community with a lower income than the Spanish average (54%), suffer from an illness, require medication or have an addiction (45%). Regarding the reasons for disappearance, 85.5% of disappearances are voluntary or intentional, and only 0.6% are forced disappearances caused by parental abduction or crimes. The provinces with the highest rate of disappearances per 100,000 inhabitants are Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Ceuta, where there is a high mobility of the immigrant population.
Recidivist disappearances represent 13% of the disappearances. Those who disappear more than once differ from non-recidivists in the following characteristics: a) they preferentially affect minors, including parent abduction or unaccompanied foreign minors, b) mental health problems or addictions are less present, and c) they occur during the last three months of the year. Finally, concerning poverty, the relationship between poverty and disappearances has only been positive in the Gini index that measures inequality in income distribution, showing a higher incidence of disappearances in localities with greater inequality.