A women's rights group in Spain has submitted a formal complaint against a judge who allegedly asked a victim of serious sexual assault, “Did you close your legs and all your female organs?”

A pregnant woman reportedly attended a local police station in the Basque Country in northern Spain last month, asking for a restraining order against a partner following “repeated” physical and sexual abuse.

Judge María del Carmen Molina Mansilla is said to have later asked the questions, denounced by The Clara Campoamor Association as “offensive, degrading and humiliating”, during a court session.

The association's president, Blanca Estrella Ruiz, said the organisation has asked for a full review and is calling for the judge's suspension or dismissal.

The country's General Council of the Judiciary told The Telegraph it had received a formal complaint concerning the matter this week, adding that Mansilla would be asked for her version of events before any decisions were made.

Ruiz said: “Such questions are not only unnecessary to the investigation but are completely offensive and violate the dignity of the victim.”

She added: ​“[Mansilla] showed obvious disbelief of the testimony of the victim, questioned her without allowing her to answer, asking leading and offensive questions.

“A clear example of this attitude is the judge’s repeated questions to the victim on whether she made any attempt to resist aggression, including asking her, ‘Did she close her legs firmly?’ and ‘Did she close all of her female organs?’”

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