How Spain’s tomato-flinging festival is stamping out sexual harassment

For 76 years tens of thousands of revellers have descended on the Valencian town of Buñol to hurl tomatoes at each other. In recent times, however, a rotten core has become apparent.
As the 77th edition of La Tomatina invited 22,000 people spending an hour throwing 120,000 kilograms of overripe tomatoes on Wednesday, officials cracked down on the growing issue of sexual harassment.
It is one of Spain’s most famous festivals and attracts visitors from all over the world, in particular Asian countries, who wear protection such as swimming goggles in the face of flying fruit.
In 2011 there was a notorious incident when a female reporter, Verónica Sanz, was harassed live on air from the event as male participants repeatedly pinched her bottom while she tried to talk to her colleagues in the studio.
This year the local council again put special measures into place to prevent such behaviour and provide support for any victims.
Organisers told The Times there were no reports of sexual assaults or similar incidents at this year’s event.
The tomatoes were escorted through the streets on trucks by staff who clear a path through the crowds. Among these staff were two volunteers per truck who acted as “mobile purple points” — a purple point in Spain being a “safe space for victims of sexist violence”.
Anyone who suffers any kind of harassment could turn to these volunteers or make use of two “fixed purple points” that were set up in the town. Three police officers were in charge of the plan, assisted by volunteers, as well as counting on help from the women’s centre in the nearby town of Yátova.
“We have not seen any incidents for years now, because fortunately, the work of the organisers at the Tomatina goes beyond just the tomatoes,” said Virginia Sanz, the mayor of Buñol, who is also the equality chief in the council. “We are in good hands thanks to the volunteers and police officers, and we are doing everything that is within our powers.”
The tradition of La Tomatina dates to 1945, when an impromptu food fight broke out at the local fiestas in Buñol, which is about 25 miles from Valencia city.
Tickets cost €15, although this year organisers also offered a VIP pass for €500 that allowed access to the top of the tomato trucks. Only five were sold.