Madrid: Thousands of protesters gathered in central Madrid and more than 200 other Spanish cities on Friday to draw attention to domestic violence in a year when 42 women have been recorded so far as having been killed by their partner or ex-partners.

A woman takes part during a protest against sexism and gender violence in Madrid, Spain, last year. Credit:AP

Protesters carried banners reading "We don't want to carry on counting victims" and chanted "We are not alone".

The Spanish government regularly publishes the number of women killed by partners or ex-partners. The number so far this year is 42, according to government statistics, with more than 1000 killed since records started in 2003.