Nevenka Fernández returns to Ponferrada 25 years after fleeing harassment case, calls her welcome 'reparation'

The return

Nevenka Fernández stepped back into Ponferrada on Saturday for the first time in a quarter-century, greeted by a packed auditorium of 300 people who rose to their feet in a prolonged ovation. The event, 'Justice, voices and memory: from systemic violence to reparation', was held at La Térmica Cultural, organized by the Fundación Ciudad de la Energía (CIUDEN) and attended by Third Vice-President Sara Aagesen and Equality Minister Ana Redondo. Fernández, visibly moved, said she was 'nervous, but very happy' to be back among friends after years abroad.

The case that changed Spain

In 2001, as a PP councilor for Finance, Fernández denounced the city's powerful mayor, Ismael Álvarez, for sexual, labor and psychological harassment. Her complaint made her the first woman in Spanish politics to bring such a case to public light. Despite a campaign of discredit and social rejection that forced her to flee Spain, a court convicted Álvarez in 2002, sentencing him to nine months in prison, a fine and €12,000 compensation. The verdict marked the first time a political office-holder in Spain was convicted of harassment.

Words of reparation

On stage, Fernández, seated alongside former PSOE spokesperson Charo Velasco, who supported her during the original trial, reflected on her journey.

“It took me a long time to realise that what happened to me was bigger than me.”

When the moderator asked what Ponferrada could do to repair her, she gestured to the full hall and exclaimed,

“But what is this, if not a reparation?”

The crowd rose again in applause. A mural of her face was unveiled on the building's exterior, which Sara Aagesen said would remind women facing harassment 'that they are not alone'.

Finding peace and looking forward

Fernández said she had achieved what she wanted in life and now has 'a heart at peace'. She credited the Me Too movement for helping her understand her story was shared by many women.

“The 'Me Too' movement gave me the feeling that they were not just saying it to Nevenka. Nevenka's story was the story of many women. It gave me the light I needed.”

While she acknowledged 'a gigantic change' over 25 years, she warned that resistance and denialist discourse persist and that women must continue to speak out.

A milestone and its legacy

Both Aagesen and Redondo praised Fernández as a pioneer and reference in the fight against gender-based violence. The day's programme also included a session called 'Complaints that open the way. Memory, courage and reparation', where Fernández and Velasco jointly recalled the personal cost of the 2001 denunciation. Organisers described the jornada as a step towards institutional and social repair, drawing a line between past injustice and present recognition.