Violence against women, from laws to reality: what remains to be done

In the last ten years, everything has changed on the issue of gender violence: these have been years of decisive laws, of increased media attention, of the emergence of a collective awareness and consciousness-raising of a structural problem deeply rooted in culture. Steps forward, certainly, but they have not yet led to the necessary revolution, as the numbers show: the most serious violence shows no sign of abating and the trend of feminicides does not follow the much more marked drop in murders in general. Certainly, on the positive side, there are also data indicating an increase in awareness: the number of rapes in couples decreases, while the number of rapes committed by exes increases (source: Istat), a sign that women are getting out of situations that put them in danger sooner. What is missing, then, for the change to be radical?

The balance of these years and the steps that need to be taken so that violence against women no longer needs to be spoken about are the topics at the centre of the round table 'Violence against women: from laws to reality' held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Alley Oop Il Sole 24 ore at Montecitorio, in the Sala della Regina, which was attended by the president of the Court of Milan Fabio Roia (in connection), for decades an absolute reference point in the study and contrast of domestic and gender violence, so much so as to have earned the nickname of 'women's judge'; the judge and councillor of the Court of Cassation Paola Di Nicola Travaglini, one of the most authoritative voices in calling for a cultural paradigm shift, even before legislation, to combat stereotypes and prejudices that also inhabit the courtrooms and Cristina Carelli, president of the network of anti-violence centres D.i.Re, the largest network of anti-violence centres in Italia, which in 2024 alone welcomed more than 24,800 women.

The discussion began with Carelli's account of the daily reality of the women who come to the anti-violence centres, centres that continue to clash with the age-old issue of the stability of funding and that still have to rely too much on voluntary work, to continue with Paola Di Nicola Travaglini's analysis, who highlighted how even today, despite the great strides made, women still struggle to be believed. 'It is difficult for women to be believed when they are faced with operators who are not specialised in combating violence against women, seen not so much from a legal point of view as from a cultural point of view,' the judge stressed. The real problem in the fight against male violence against women, the judge forcefully reiterated, 'are judicial prejudices and stereotypes: Italia has been condemned for this and now training must focus mainly on this profile'.

Specialised training, therefore, which must cover different areas, not only the judicial ones. Secondary victimisation, in fact, takes place not only in the courtrooms, but also in the media, in the toxic narratives that we still too often see. Emphasising the work done by Alley Oop in recent years on the issue, the president of the Court of Milan said: 'Ten years is a long time and a short time to create and to communicate a cultural revolution that has moved, is moving, but still has to take many steps'. It is, Roia continued, 'a very slow process, but in this process the way of communicating and raising awareness is fundamental'. The battle against violence against women, Roia said, 'is a battle of civilisation'. Cristina Carelli also insisted on training, emphasising how important it is that the trainings are held by people specialised and experienced in the topic, who do not improvise as such. Also at the centre of the debate was the issue of consensus.

Carelli, describing the challenges and obstacles faced by women who suffer violence, even when they manage to have the strength to ask for help, dwelt on the 'central issue of consent'. "Right now," Carelli said, "we are very concerned and committed to raising public awareness about what is happening with the law on sexual violence, which is being challenged by Senator Bongiorno's proposal that shifts the very structure of the law," from the concept of consent to that of dissent. 'If this proposal were to pass,' Carelli said, 'we would be taking a very serious and dangerous step backwards not only for all women, but also for society as a whole. Because really women are not and cannot be considered available a priori, and it cannot be assumed that in order not to be considered available women must say no. Women,' she concluded, 'have the right to exercise their freedom of choice, including in the sexual sphere'.