World Day against violence against women. An important appointment to reiterate that a long way has been made but much more must be done to defend the rights of women who still suffer violence and abuse of all kinds. A phenomenon that does not concern only some countries but the entire planet. From the poorest nations to the richest and most advanced: everywhere there is a woman who is mistreated, abused, wounded in body and soul.
Men who love women and who do not kill them are formed in the family and also in school. The formative role of the educational agencies of our society is fundamental. Respect for women is taught at home and then at school. The issue must be addressed with dedicated educational courses and with initiatives that involve children personally.
The Day established by the UN
November 25 is not a randomly chosen date. On this day we remember the terrible murder of three Mirabal sisters occurred during the Dominican regime of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in 1960. The three sisters fought against the dictatorship that was tearing their country apart and for this they were killed. The UN established the International Day with Resolution 54/134 of December 17, 1999. The declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly speaks of "violence against women as one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position to men".
Violence against women: the pandemic has made matters worse
Since the beginning of this year, the world has been in the grip of the pandemic emergency. The spread of infections for months has been limiting the freedom of the world population. For many women, staying at home with their tormentor is becoming a decidedly unbearable torture. In fact, it has been ascertained that after the first spring lockdown, blood has increased in the home as well as acts of violence.
The latest report, produced by the Permanent Monitoring Body during the Coronavirus emergency, highlights that since the end of March there has been a steady and gradual increase in the so-called "spy crimes" of gender-based violence. These are persecutory acts, ill-treatment and sexual violence. Yet in Italy, the 'red code' was introduced in the Criminal Code with the primary purpose of stemming gender-based violence and the increasingly disturbing phenomenon of femicide. But, apparently, those who are determined to brutalize and kill are not frightened by the possible sentence to be served.
# Mask1522
In this period of health emergency, those in need of help can do so by associating the surgical mask, which protects from the virus, the number # 1522 that fights violence. Those who are relegated at home and continue to be harassed by their partner have the opportunity to cry out for help. Those in this difficulty can ask for a mask # 1522 at the pharmacy: this is the code to ask for help! The hashtag of this international day 2020, the year of the pandemic, is therefore # Mask1522.
In addition, the State-Regions conference has allocated 28 million euros to be allocated to anti-violence centers and shelters. These are measures intended for all regional initiatives aimed at tackling violence against women. The Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Elena Bonetti, will sign the decree in the coming days that will allocate funds for the current year to the regions. The 28 million are added to the 5,5 million that have already been allocated to finance urgent interventions in favor of shelters and anti-violence centers following the pandemic from Covid-19. The resources made available to local services for 2020 are therefore a total of 33,5 million euros.
The numbers of violence against women
According to data released by the Eures Research Institute, 3.344 women were killed in Italy between 2000 and 31 October 2020. Femicides that accrued and then occurred in the family context, in 2020, reached the record percentage of 89 percent. In most cases, the main cause of femicide is the morbid and blinding jealousy of the man who does not give up at the end of the relationship with the woman. The restrictions imposed by the lockdown have also exacerbated the situations of quarrel and conflict already existing in couples. Misunderstandings and disagreements which, due to forced coexistence, have become real short circuits that have blown up the already precarious family balance.
Fragility and loneliness
In this difficult pandemic time, the number of women killed due to the inability of a partner to take care of their disease has also increased. The percentage rose from 10,8 percent to 20,3 percent. Extreme gestures caused by fragility, loneliness and the absence of adequate socio-health support. The increase in feminicides-suicides is also very strong: the torturer first kills the partner who wants to leave him and then takes his own life. This dynamic, according to statistical data, was found in 23 percent of femicides between January and October 2019. This percentage rose to 43,1 percent in the first 10 months of 2020.