From Rome
From January 1 to November 20, 2022, 104 women were murdered in Italy, 88 of them in the family environment, according to official data. Last year, according to the Institute of Statistics (Istat), these homicides were 119. But the murder rate was 0.51 per 100,000 inhabitants, which places the country in the group with the fewest homicides in Europe, along with Luxembourg, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
But knowing how many of the murders have really been femicides is not always easy: often the murdered women never made prior complaints or requested assistance from specialized centers. Or if they did, justice took a long time to take action. To define a femicide it is necessary to analyze information about the victims, about the perpetrator of the crime and about the context of the violence. And for this reason in Italy, in particular this week in which the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was commemorated on November 25, several projects are being undertaken that should facilitate this journey.
In this context, on Thursday the conclusions of the work of the Parliamentary Commission of Investigation on Femicides were presented in the Senate, a project started in the previous legislature at the initiative of the senator of the Democratic Party (centre-left), Valeria Valente. And one of the most serious points that emerged from this research is that the difficulties that women have in reporting violence are still pervasive. 63% of the murdered women had never spoken to anyone. Only 15% of them had made a complaint. But it also emerged that justice moves too slowly when there are complaints, at the risk of the murders taking place. For this reason, some political sectors are calling for more effective regulations in this area.
“It is not a question of women but of men – said the president of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa, of the right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party, when presenting the report – a part of the men has not yet digested the steps forward that the women, especially when they manage to prevail due to their ability, their intelligence, their being better than the male sex”.
The President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, sent a message to the media. “Violence against women is an open violation of human rights, unfortunately spread without geographical, generational or social distinctions” (…) “Reporting violence is a fact that requires courage. We have a duty to support women who have the strength to do so, offering them protection, security and recovery,” he said. And he also stressed that, in order to eliminate violence against women, it is necessary to “spread prevention and a culture of respect” that must reach the younger generations.
“We proudly declare that we are all feminists,” wrote the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, in a tweet, who also asked governments to increase funding by 50% to organizations and movements that protect women’s rights. . A new study carried out by UN Women and other organizations reveals that in 2021, on average, more than five women or girls were killed in the world every hour, by someone in their own family.
The “violence meter”
The violence meter is a kind of increasing scale that allows experts to “measure” – if that’s how it can be said – the degree of violence suffered by a woman and also offers her a greater understanding of her own situation. It is used by experts who try to understand the situation of the woman who has made a complaint or has asked for help. But they also recommend its use to potential victims, even if no complaint has been made, to better understand its possible risks. According to specialists, we must always bear in mind that psychological violence precedes physical violence.
The violence tester contains a series of questions but also presents possible situations that the affected person can identify. Among them: “He tells you heavy and offensive phrases, he extorts you morally, he lies to you, he cheats on you, he ignores you, he controls you jealously, he blames you for everything, he ridicules you, he offends you, he humiliates you in public, he threatens you, you controls, prohibits you from being with friends or family, or using money, cell phones, email, certain clothes or frequenting certain places. And also “Destroys your personal belongings, gives you aggressive caresses, hits you as if he were playing, pinches you, scratches you, pushes you, yells at you, kicks you, locks you up or isolates you, threatens you with objects or weapons , threatens you with death, forces you to have sexual relations, sexually abuses you.”
“From you always”
In these days, numerous activities have been organized throughout Italy to remember the day against violence against women. In Rome, on Friday the 25th, the Chigi Palace – the seat of government – was illuminated in red, representing this fight against femicides and violence. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also remembered the 104 women killed this year.
The City Hall of the Italian capital, under the title “Always from you”, organized round tables, debates in schools, art exhibitions and book launches in each section of the municipality so that people had easy access to the events. In one of the round tables, they discussed how companies can help organizations that fight against violence, but they also discussed the role that institutions and the media can play in this area.
Among other activities, the show “Solidarity Tango of the Red Shoes” was presented on the esplanade of the Porta San Paolo train station, sponsored by the Argentine Embassy and the Italian-Latin American Institute of Rome.
In other parts of the city, benches in squares or parks were painted red and Amnesty International organized a show with dresses worn by women who have suffered violence. There were also activists from Iran who raised banners with slogans like “Woman, life, freedom”. In schools, especially secondary schools, debates were organized under the title “Women, a history that must be rewritten”, while in some supermarkets bread was sold in paper bags with the phrase “A bag against violence” and a Telephone number to make complaints: 1522. In Piazzale di Ponte Milvio, on the Tiber River, an area frequented by young people, a plaque was placed with the phrase “We have been loved and hated, adored and disowned, kissed and murdered… just because we are women”.
On Saturday, a demonstration against violence with the title “Not one less” will march from Piazza della Repubblica to Piazza San Giovanni, two important points in the Italian capital, while in various parts of the city posters will be placed insisting on “No to violence against women”.
