Canary Islands Public TV Accused of Humiliating Homeless Woman

Two advocacy organizations, La Voz del Mendigo and the Asamblea Reivindicativa Canaria (ARCAN), have publicly denounced the public broadcaster Televisión Canaria for the alleged humiliating treatment of a homeless woman in Tenerife.

The accusations center on an interaction that took place on March 30, 2026, involving a woman identified as Yaiza. According to the organizations, Yaiza, who lives in a state of homelessness and has a disability, was contacted by a journalist from the public television station.

The organizations claim that during the conversation, the reporter administered a questionnaire that asked Yaiza about her consumption of alcohol or drugs, the specific nature of her mental disability, her family situation, and her origin.

La Voz del Mendigo and ARCAN assert that these questions served as a filter based on prejudice, placing the woman in a position of stigmatization and inequality from the start of the interaction.

The organizations further argue that such inquiries were neither neutral nor necessary for the purpose of reporting on the desperate situation of a woman who remains at risk of death while living on the streets.

Allegations of Privacy Invasion

The situation reportedly escalated when Yaiza questioned the journalist regarding the necessity of such an invasion of her privacy and the lack of trust displayed during the interview.

According to the statement from the associations, the journalist did not provide an explanation or a rectification, but instead ended the call. The organizations suggest this indicates a search for negative information to counter or manipulate the narratives emerging about the woman in other media outlets.

Yaiza’s circumstances had previously been highlighted in the media during the passage of storm Therese through the Canary Islands. She has lived in a shack in the municipality of Granadilla since the pandemic.

This form of doing journalism that manipulates and distorts, that distrusts the poor, that stigmatizes mental illness, that invades the privacy of those who have the least capacity to defend themselves, and that uses suffering as narrative material without respect for human dignity, deserves to be condemned emphatically.

La Voz del Mendigo and ARCAN

The organizations described the actions of Televisión Canaria as extremely grave, stating that the broadcaster revictimized and prejudged the woman while accessing protected data concerning mental health and substance use.

Demands for Accountability

La Voz del Mendigo and ARCAN have characterized this incident as part of a pattern of behavior by the public entity intended to direct narratives in service of the government, which they claim demonstrates a grave ethical drift in the treatment of vulnerable individuals.

In response to these events, the entities have requested several actions from the broadcaster:

• A public explanation regarding the incident.
• A comprehensive review of internal protocols for the treatment of vulnerable persons.
• The implementation of measures against those who apply these practices.

The organizations announced they would present a formal complaint at the headquarters of the public entity on Monday, April 6, 2026.

On March 31, 2026, inquiries were sent to Televisión Canaria via email to obtain their version of the events. The questions sought to verify the accusations, determine if management had taken any measures, identify the program involved, and clarify if the questionnaire used was a standard procedure for all interviewees or specifically targeted at those in socioeconomic situations similar to Yaiza’s.

As of April 5, 2026, the public broadcaster has not responded to any of these questions.