Self-isolation, due to the current medical emergency, may further complicate those difficult situations linked to gender domestic abuse. You can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 1522, twenty-four-seven, for support and to report domestic abuse. You can call by landline and mobile phone and find help and support in Italian, English, French, Spanish and Arabic. You can also download the 1522 app to contact their female operators and ask for help and support.

Many women victim of domestic violence, during the last few weeks of self-quarantine, are forced to stay at home with their family and, as a consequence, in perpetual proximity to their abusers putting their health and safety at risk. In 2019, in Italy, 81,2% of femicides, a sex-based hate crime, happened within the family.

Telefono Rosa, the Italian organisation which helps and supports women victim of domestic violence, says that, at this moment of forced cohabitation and movement restrictions, they are experiencing a severe drop in the calls from women who want to report violence from their partners. In the last two weeks, the 1522 hotline received half the requests compared to the same period last year and official reports to the police decreased by 50%

The National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1522, is free and available 24 hours a day. You can also download the1522 app to contact their female operators and ask for help and support. For women who are living such dramatic situations, even making a call may be difficult for fear that their partners might be listening and can gain access to their calls. In such cases, the app can be a better option. Preventing a rise in femicides and violence against women, as some ONG are reporting it is happening in China, is paramount.

This campaign is promoted by The Presidency of the Council of Ministers  - Equal Opportunity Department.