The third social sector: citizen science in the field of disappearances in Spain

Abstract

This article analyzes the impact and nature of "citizen science" as generated by the Third Sector within the context of missing persons in Spain. The main objective is to demonstrate how family-led organizations have transcended a supportive role to become producers of applied scientific knowledge, driving structural reforms. The methodology is qualitative, combining a historical-legal analysis of the legal figure of the disappeared, a study of catalytic media cases, a review of official reports from the National Center for the Disappeared (CNDES), and an examination of the proposals and documents drafted by these organizations.

The most significant results show that the "knowledge born from pain" of these associations constitutes a fundamental source of empirical knowledge. They have achieved concrete progress, such as eradicating the "24-hour waiting period" myth for filing a report, reducing the legal timeframes for the declaration of absence and death, and unifying police protocols. Furthermore, their advocacy was key to the creation of the CNDES and the formalization of their collaborative role in the First National Strategic Plan (2022-2024).

The main conclusion is that the Third Sector has transformed an issue of property law into a matter of human rights, thereby validating citizen science as an effective tool. A model of collaborative governance between civil society and the State has been consolidated, whose main pending challenge is the creation of a "Statute of the Disappeared Person" to grant comprehensive legal certainty to victims.