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 telephone calls and chat requests for help, also continued to increase in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter, albeit to a limited extent (8,508 valid calls + 6.7%) while the victims recorded a very slight decrease (4,243 victims -1.5%). Compared to the peak of the second quarter of 2020 (12,942 valid calls and 5,606 victims) there is a decrease in both valid calls and victims (-34% and -24% respectively). The share of requests for help via chat also decreases, which represent 15.3% of the methods of contact (they were equal to 18% in the second quarter of 2020).
Among the reasons that lead to contacting the toll-free number, calls relating to “requests for help from victims of violence” and “reports for cases of violence” continue to prevail, which together make up 44.8% (3,812) of calls valid. However, in the second quarter, compared to the same period of the previous year, they decreased by 25%, as well as calls for information on the number 1522 (-19.2%). The comparison with the second quarter of 2020, characterized by the lockdown period, further confirms how much the continued stay within the domestic walls has affected the phenomenon of violence. People who called 1522 for the first time in the second quarter of 2021 are 83.5%, a figure which remains constant compared to the previous quarter and slightly increased compared to the same period in 2020. Among the victims this figure reaches 89,7%. The victims who contacted 1522 reported having suffered multiple types of violence in 66.1% of cases (in particular, 2 in 21.8% and 3 or more forms of violence in 44.2% of cases). One type of violence was reported by 26.3% of the victims. Among the violence that victims declare as the main violence, physical is the most reported, while considering all the violence declared by the victims, psychological violence is the most frequent type.
The 1522 service plays an important role as a hub at a territorial level between the services in support of those who turn to it: 70.5% of the victims in the second quarter of 2021 were directed to a territorial service (an increase compared to the first quarter of 2021) and of these 89.5% (equal to 2,678 victims) was sent to a refuge. 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.
More information
Service Population Register, demographic statistics and living conditions
Alessandra Capobianchi
capobian@istat.it
Claudia Villante
claudia.villante@istat.it
Maria Giuseppina Muratore
muratore@istat.it