Violence against women

Violence against women is a very current topic, unfortunately, and at the same time very old. It is nothing new that women are sexually, physically or psychologically abused. Violence (of both women and men) does not only refer to physical or psychological violence, we also speak of stalking, economic violence and ASSISTED violence. To date, women victims of domestic violence are a considerable number.

The numbers I am about to say were taken from the website ‘www.istat.it’: 31.5 per cent of the 16-70 year olds (6 million 788 thousand) have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime: 20.2 per cent (4 million 353 thousand) have experienced physical violence, 21 per cent (4 million 520 thousand) sexual violence, 5.4 per cent (1 million 157 thousand) the most serious forms of sexual violence such as rape (652 thousand) and attempted rape (746 thousand). 13.6 per cent of women (2 million 800 thousand) suffered physical or sexual violence from partners or ex-partners, in particular 5.2 per cent (855 thousand) from current partners and 18.9 per cent (2 million 44 thousand) from ex-partners. The most serious problem here is that all these women sometimes remain silent: some because of fear, some because of threats, some because they are forced to, some because of economic problems. There are many women who were only able to ask for help when the situation got out of hand, when the person who was causing them this violence came to ruin their lives. One day I saw a video on YouTube of a woman who was a victim of violence, a victim who had always been afraid to ask for help and who only succeeded when her ex-boyfriend poured goodbye on her face, disfiguring her forever.

We cannot know what goes through the heads of these violent men, nor what is in the heads of women who are unable to ask for help, but fear can prevent you from doing so. In Italy, there are many associations that intervene when there are situations of domestic violence: Frida -women who support women-; the anti-violence and stalking number 1522; the Telefono Rosa, with women who listen to other women and try to support them. I would like to conclude by saying that if anyone needs help, to ask for it from someone competent.