Spanish prison's LGBTQ support group fosters visibility and safety for inmates

At Morón de la Frontera prison near Seville, the Espacio Seguro program brings together LGBTQ inmates, offering a safe space that has helped lower hostility.

Espacio Seguro, created at the Morón de la Frontera jail (officially Sevilla II) near Seville, offers a dedicated space for the prison's roughly 1,350 LGBTQ inmates. Launched by training services manager Alejandro Ferreiro, who volunteers as an activist, the group now meets monthly with 15 participants, discussing coming-out challenges, protection, and health issues. Activities include Pride celebrations, film forums, and sexual-health testing provided by the NGO Stop Sevilla.

The effort has been backed by deputy director Laura Agüero and the prison’s Equality Committee, leading to the facility being named an LGBTQ-phobia-free zone by the regional government. Across Spain, about half of the 80 prisons host comparable diversity projects, often in partnership with groups like Fundación 26 de Diciembre, which runs the Rejas Rosas program in Madrid and A Coruña prisons. Prison officials say the initiative has contributed to a drop in conflicts and hate crimes, while inmates report feeling more accepted and less isolated.