Istat with this publication continues the analysis of the data contained in the data set of the helpline 1522, against gender based violence and stalking, provided to Department of Equal Opportunity of Presidency of Council of Ministers. Following a suggestion provided at international level, the information collected by the Italian helpline, can provide some evidence on the domestic violence’s trend during the pandemic period, and, after a few months, also its monitoring. In the absence of an updated statistical study carried out in real time, in fact, the analysis of data from calls to 1522, especially if compared with the same period of previous years, can provide useful indications on the evolution of the phenomenon during the lockdown, especially on the trend of requests for help. The awareness campaigns promoted by the Department of Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers on television channels and relaunched on social media between the end of March and April have reinforced the message of the importance of the request for help to get out of the violence, which, in consideration of the new updated data, confirm their relevance.
The number of valid calls, both by phone and via chat, during the period between March and October 2020 has increased considerably compared to the same period of the previous year (+71.7%), from 13,424 to 23,071. The growth in the number of requests for help via chat has tripled from 829 to 3,347 messages. Among the reasons for contacting the helpline, calls for “calls for help from victims of violence” and “reports for cases of violence” doubled, which together account for 45.8% of valid calls (a total of 10,577). In the period considered, compared to the same period of the previous year, they grew by 107%. Calls for information on Anti-Violence Centres also are increased (+65.7%).
The helpline, during the lockdown period, also provided information and advice to users who were carriers of needs different from those of violence and stalking (3,493 calls, equal to 15.1% of valid calls); on these occasions the operators offered support by indicating other useful numbers to users as an evidence the function of “proximity” that this service has provided in a particular moment of crisis.
The 1522 service plays an important role as a node at territorial level among the services supporting those who turn to it: 76% of the victims are directed to a territorial service and of these 87.6% (equal to 7,741 calls) are sent to an Anti-Violence Centre.
Tables report information: on the type of users that addresses the service articulated at regional level, the timing of calls, the places and forms of violence, as well as the effects generated by it both directly on victims and children (witnessing violence), reporting, where available, information details of social and personal data and providing information on the outcomes of the call.
For more information:
Service Population Register, demographic statistics and living conditions
Claudia Villante
claudia.villante@istat.it
Maria Giuseppina Muratore
muratore@istat.it
Alessandra Capobianchi
capobian@istat.it