Rassignment, lack of aspirations, constraint within a culturally imposed subordinate role, absolute dependence on the male figure. They are just some of the fragility that can lead to episodes of violence against women revealed by the research conducted by lines among users of Women’s spaces set up by We World (organization active for 50 years in the protection of women’s and children’s rights in 27 countries around the world).
Behaviors that can escalate into violence
«Some partner’s attitudes are sometimes interpreted as attention and care, but in reality they hide a desire for control. As well as the will to create social isolation. To stimulate women to reflect and prevent risk, we have drawn up a handbook of the most frequent behaviors that can degenerate into situations of violence. un real service tool that collects the most frequent and often more subtle signals that characterize a toxic relationship», he declares Ione Volpe, marketing director of Lines. The research was carried out with the support of psychologists and educators who work in the We World centers distributed in disadvantaged neighborhoods of various Italian cities, from Milan, Brescia and Bologna to Rome, Naples and Cosenza.
The decalogue of situations at risk: here are the “alarm bells”
Handbook of situations that can escalate into violence against women (WeWorld)
Between the “warning bells” the following are reported: the tendency to publicly disparage one’s partner, a arouse feelings of guilt, to isolate it from the context of friends and family and to create an economic dependence. The presentation of the Decalogue, today, November 23, 2022, takes place within the inauguration ceremony of a new Women’s Space in Pescara. Created thanks to the partnership between We World and Lines, it will be a place of welcome and aggregation. A place to cope with these difficult situations and build trusting relationships.
The activities of the Women’s Spaces
«The Women’s Spaces are places of proximity but also spaces of culture and affective and relational literacy. As well as empowerment and overcoming economic, social and cultural inequalities, through paths of working autonomy and legal and psychological assistance», he intervenes Marco Chiesara, president of We World.
In the Women’s Spaces they are also active spaces childcare to allow women-mothers to participate in the activities and at the same time favor an observation space, in which expert operators can detect situations of discomfort in children or cases of witnessed and/or suffered violence.
Preventing violence against women
Recognizing and dealing with fragility and risk situations in time is the mission shared by We World’s team of psychologists, pedagogues, educators and social workers. Together with Lines, as Volpe reiterates, they took a engagement with women to support them in the fight against gender stereotypes which, unfortunately, often degenerate into violence.
11% of women who suffer violence do not report
“Women here don’t come with the aim of denouncing an overt situation of violence. Since it is not a formal acceptance by the services, women feel free to express themselves and are not afraid of measures being taken on themselves or on their children» Chiesara says.
The new Women’s Space in Pescara will be a point of reference for a potential pool of over 150 women, figure estimated on the basis of experience gained in other Women’s Spaces as well as knowledge of the local area. In Italy, in fact, only 11% of women who suffer violence report the incidentof these almost 40%, do not even talk to anyone about what they have suffered.
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