THEAnd shutters that stay up late, the lights of the pharmacies on duty, the windows of the small neighborhood shops. In Italy, these places are changing their skin, ceasing to be just spaces of consumption to become a territorial safety net. The Purple Dotsthe project born from the DonneXStrada associationto offer protection to women who feel in danger by walking alone in the evening, is branching out with surprising capillarity: there are already 900 garrisons to try to transform the concept of urban safety.
More and more Purple Dots: the collective response to fear on the street
Today the network involves large supermarket chains, shopping centers and even large telephone operatorswho have made their sales points available throughout the national territory, showing how is no longer the isolated initiative of some sensitive trader. This exponential growth responds to a need that the numbers starkly describe. In large metropolises such as Milan, Rome, Turin and Bolognathe perception of danger is a constant that affects daily life. According to the latest findings, 96% of women don’t feel comfortable walking alone at nightand 80% admit that this fear influences fundamental choices, such as accepting a job or studying schedules.
A void that we are slowly trying to fill
The expansion of the Purple Points acts precisely on this void. Every new shop window displaying the symbol of the initiative takes away space for uncertainty. It is not a question of delegating security to patrols, but of creating a community of trained people, bartenders, pharmacists, shop assistants, capable of offering qualified first aid to anyone who feels threatened or is suffering harassment. What makes this network robust and ever-evolving is not just the number of participants, but the quality of the support. Becoming a Purple Dot is not simply “opening the door”.
The Purple Points are not just simple shops, but “safe havens” where you can find refuge if you feel chased or threatened. (Getty Images)
Beyond the sticker on the shop window: the strength of competence
The staff of participating businesses, in fact, follows a specific training course managed by lawyers and psychologists. These operators they learn to manage the shock, to avoid secondary victimizationthat phenomenon in which those who have suffered a trauma are blamed or not believed by those who provide assistance, and to act as a bridge to institutional structures. They know how to alert the police and, above all, how to direct victims towards Anti-Violence Centres, the specialized structures that offer free and continuous legal and psychological support.
The Purple Points map that redesigns freedom of movement
The goal of the growth of the Purple Dots is to eliminate “dark areas” from cities. Through a constantly updated digital map on the DonneXStrada website, anyone can locate the nearest shelter in real time. It is a compass that allows you to reclaim public spaces, knowing that a few dozen meters away there is a place where the danger ceases and help becomes concrete. The network is tightening around the most critical neighborhoodsbringing information and protection where previously there was only silence. And the participation of large industrial and commercial entities is giving the project a punch that promises to make the network even denser by the end of the yeartransforming every road into a potentially safe route.
How to join the network
The growth mechanism, however, is based on active participation. For this reason, traders who wish to transform their business into a garrison are invited, to request membership by filling out an online form and contributing to the financing of training, an investment in the quality of life of your neighborhood. That, as demonstrated by the almost thousand points already active, it is becoming a model of civilization adopted throughout Italy.
