MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s leftist government on Tuesday approved a bill to make violence that targets women by harming their loved ones a separate criminal offence, the country’s latest move aimed at combatting mistreatment of women.

Vicarious violence is that which “is exerted against women by the partner or ex-partner through an intermediary person”, often children but also other close relatives, Equality Minister Ana Redondo explained.

“It is a form of violence that is not incorporated in our legal system. We think that, since reality is what it is, it is essential to classify it, incorporate it, and define it,” she told a news conference.

Redondo said 65 children have been murdered in acts of vicarious violence in Spain since such data collection began in 2013.

But the violence can take more subtle forms, including not giving children their prescribed medicine, refusing to take them to sporting activities they enjoy or returning them to the mother with filthy clothes.

The modification of the criminal code would associate the aggravating circumstances of gender with vicarious violence, punishable by jail terms ranging from six months to three years.

The reform would also punish abusers by banning them from publishing information or documents that could cause the victim more pain.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government, which has prided itself on promoting feminism and gender equality, must get its bill approved in parliament where it lacks a majority.

Spain is a pioneer in the fight against gender-based violence.

A law that entered into force in 2005 introduced a range of new support measures for women, including specialised courts, free legal assistance, emergency housing and prosecution even if the victim did not submit a complaint.