I’ve had a home in Spain for 25 years and I love this country – its openness, its warmth and its way of life.

But there is something deeply troubling about the surge in male violence, particularly in Andalucia, which is on track for one of its deadliest-ever years in terms of domestic violence killings.

In just the last few days, we’ve seen two horrific cases in the region alone.

In Cordoba, a woman was hacked to death with a machete by her ex-partner – despite a restraining order and both herself and her killer being in the VioGen domestic violence database.

In a separate case, another woman’s parents were stabbed while preventing her machete-wielding ex from entering their home – after he had allegedly threatened to kill her over the phone.

Unfortunately, it appears these are no longer isolated cases, but instead part of a pattern.

The case of British expat Victoria Hart earlier this year sent shockwaves through the international community.

But I fear for some people in Spain, stories like these are starting to barely register due to their frequency, and that should worry all of us.

Spain is sold as a progressive, modern, liberal society. And in many ways, it is. Walk through Madrid, Barcelona, or Malaga and you’ll see a country that feels freer and more relaxed than much of northern Europe.

But scratch beneath the surface,and there is still a deeply ingrained culture of machismo. While it is not always obvious nor aggressive, it is persistent.

It shows up in attitudes and in relationships, and in the way some men speak about women when they think no one is listening – plus the normalisation of jealousy, control, and manipulation.

And in the worst and most extreme cases, it turns violent.

Of course, not all men are violent, and there are great men living in society, but there is clearly a growing problem with violence.

What’s most alarming about the recent killings is not just the brutality but the missed warning signs.

Despite them having restraining orders, being known to police and in the Cordoba case just hours from a court date, they were still murdered.

Spain’s VioGen system is often held up as a model for tracking gender violence cases. But what use is a system if it cannot ultimately protect the women inside it?

It must be improved, and there must be better protection mechanisms in place for vulnerable women.

While Spain has moved forward economically, socially, politically, when it comes to masculinity, parts of the country are still stuck decades in the past.

That doesn’t mean every man. Far from it. But it only takes a minority, enabled by silence or complacency, to create a crisis.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.