Politics
Italy: Women mobilise against domestic violence
Rome, 22 Nov. (AKI) - Thousands of women from across Italy are expected to to attend a protest march on Saturday against male violence.
"Male aggression is recognised by the United Nations are the primary cause of death and disability for women worldwide," said a group of feminists who have organised the 'Women against Violence' protest via an online appeal posted on the website http://controviolenzadonne.org
Italy's Association of Moroccan Women (AMID) is one of 400 women's organisations that will be attending Saturday's march from Piazza della Repubblica to Piazza Navona in central Rome.
Health minister Livia Turco, equal opportunities minister Barbara Pollastrini and trade union representatives will attend the march. Italian Euro-MP and vice-president of the European Parliament, Luisa Morgantini has signalled she will also be present.
"The problem of violence towards women in Italy is dire. Although many seek to hide it, violence towards women is growing at an alarming rate," said AMID president Souad Sbai. She urged specific policies to protect women's rights.
The average age of the female victims is also falling, according to to the Italian official statistics agency ISTAT.
Over 14 million Italian women have experienced physical sexual and psychological violence from men during their lives, according to ISTAT.
Victims' partners or relatives are responsible for most of this violence and for over 69 percent of rapes, ISTAT said. A total 1.4 million women have been raped before they were 16.
Shockingly, over 94 percent of violence endured by women is never reported, and just 18.2 percent of women consider it a crime.
The march is intended to signal that women's safety cannot be reduced to a public order issue, nor to justify repressive or racist measures, according to the organisers.
The protest organisers want to "denounce the silence of politicians and institutions" over domestic violence towards women "perpetrated by fathers, brothers, husands and ex-partners in the home - where relations of power and dependence are formed."
Pollastrini is moving to create a permanent forum on the issue of domestic violence, La Repubblica newspaper reported on Thursday
"Male aggression is recognised by the United Nations are the primary cause of death and disability for women worldwide," said a group of feminists who have organised the 'Women against Violence' protest via an online appeal posted on the website http://controviolenzadonne.org
Italy's Association of Moroccan Women (AMID) is one of 400 women's organisations that will be attending Saturday's march from Piazza della Repubblica to Piazza Navona in central Rome.
Health minister Livia Turco, equal opportunities minister Barbara Pollastrini and trade union representatives will attend the march. Italian Euro-MP and vice-president of the European Parliament, Luisa Morgantini has signalled she will also be present.
"The problem of violence towards women in Italy is dire. Although many seek to hide it, violence towards women is growing at an alarming rate," said AMID president Souad Sbai. She urged specific policies to protect women's rights.
The average age of the female victims is also falling, according to to the Italian official statistics agency ISTAT.
Over 14 million Italian women have experienced physical sexual and psychological violence from men during their lives, according to ISTAT.
Victims' partners or relatives are responsible for most of this violence and for over 69 percent of rapes, ISTAT said. A total 1.4 million women have been raped before they were 16.
Shockingly, over 94 percent of violence endured by women is never reported, and just 18.2 percent of women consider it a crime.
The march is intended to signal that women's safety cannot be reduced to a public order issue, nor to justify repressive or racist measures, according to the organisers.
The protest organisers want to "denounce the silence of politicians and institutions" over domestic violence towards women "perpetrated by fathers, brothers, husands and ex-partners in the home - where relations of power and dependence are formed."
Pollastrini is moving to create a permanent forum on the issue of domestic violence, La Repubblica newspaper reported on Thursday
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