The anti-violence and anti-stalking hotline 1522: quarterly data for Q1 and Q2 2024

The published tables cover the first and second quarters of 2024 compared with the quarters of 2023 data are about calls (by phone and via chat) from users of the 1522 number and victims of violence who turn to this service for requests for help. As was the case with the publication of the third and fourth quarters of 2023, the production of the data uses a new platform for storing the information collected during conversations with the service’s operators (see in this regard the updated methodological note illustrating the changes made).

Compared with the quarters already published and observing the trends recorded in previous years, the Q1 and Q2 show a clear upward trend, especially when compared with the two quarters of the previous year (Table 1). Looking specifically at the Q1 compared to the previous year, there is an 83.5 percent increase in valid calls (17,880 in terms of absolute values). This increase is also confirmed in the Q2, albeit to a lesser extent, with 57.4 percent or 15,109 valid calls.

As Table 6 and the reported graph highlight, the trend has tended to decrease since the beginning of the year 2024 and does not seem to be influenced by external events as it is in the last quarter of the year where the celebration of Violence Against Women Day on November 25 generates a steady spike in calls from both victims and users.

Analyzing the reasons for contacting 1522, it is observed that the increase is mainly generated by users who call to inquire about the type of service that is provided by the helpline (doubling compared to the first quarter of 2023), to inquire about anti-violence centers (+121.2% in the first quarter), or again, to obtain clarification on the regulatory tools for the protection of victims of violence (+96.8% in the second half of the year). In the latter case, it should be noted that the number of calls grew gradually over time and was not affected, as with the other reasons for calling, by the influence of external events (celebratory and/or crime news).

Among the reasons that lead victims to seek help, stalking should be noted, which shows a greater increase compared to the same quarters of the previous year (+74.9% in the Q1 and +24.8% in the second half, respectively). Between the two quarters of 2024, calls reporting a case of violence decrease significantly: they are 374 compared to 680 in the Q1.

The data return interesting information on what communication channels through which both users and victims approached the 1522 service (Table 9). It should be noted how communication campaigns have increased their effectiveness over time, positively and progressively affecting 1522 outreach. Between the Q1 and Q2 of 2024, this communication channel appears to have doubled among users and victims of the service, rising from 2,692 to 5,037 cases indicating it as the means by which they became aware of 1522, a figure that is also on the rise compared to the Q4 of 2023 .  More traditional channels such as TV and the Internet continue to play a central role in dissemination (2,838 and 3,543 of reported cases in the Q1, respectively).

The 1522 also performs a function as a territory-wide junction between services to support those who turn to it, connecting victims with the nearest available protection services. During the Q2 of 2024, the number of cases in which this linking function is growing, even as the total number of calls shrinks (Table 10). Growing with the trends recorded in previous quarters, 94.1 percent of calls are in fact referred to Anti-Violence Centers and Services, Sheltered and Victims’ Homes.

Continuing with 2023 and increasing from the two quarters of reference, the type of violence experienced for about half of the victims is physical violence (39.8% in the first quarter and 42.9% in the second), followed by psychological violence (37.9% and 36.7%, respectively) (Table 12). Also considering the cases of victims who suffered two or more types of violence (Table 12bis), it is psychological violence that is suffered in a relevant form: victims in the Q1 indicate it in 1,974 cases and in the Q2 1,755 cases. Looking at the total amount of violence suffered, in addition to physical and psychological violence, it is threats and stalking that constitute the most prevalent forms, which confirms the service’s role in combating stalking. Also of notable importance are calls for economic violence.

Table 13 reports information already noted in the previous quarters, which confirms the long duration of the violent act: more than half of the victims (55.8% in the Q1 and 60.7% in the Q2) claim to have suffered violence for years. As a consequence of this pervasiveness, heavy is the effect of the acts of violence suffered on the behaviors of survivors: from the account reported to the 1522 operators, 58.2% of victims (overall analysis of the two quarters of 2024) experience anxiety and are in a severe state of awe. This percentage increases during the second quarter to 64.9% (Table 14). The other figure that confirms the dynamics of violence reported to 1522 over time concerns the place where the violence occurs: in the two quarters of 2024 the percentage of victims (74.3%) who indicate the home as the place of violence remains almost constant (Table 15). This confirms the high percentage of cases of witnessing violence, already noted in the previous quarters: in the two quarters taken together, more than half of the responding victims (57.3%) had children, and of these 31.5% say they have minor children. Also in the two quarters taken together, the percentage of victims who state that their children witnessed and experienced violence is 18.9 percent, while in 32.3 percent of cases their children only witnessed it (Table 18). Witnessed violence generates reactions of anxiety (there are 1,211 cases in the two quarters of 2024) but also aggression, fears and hyper-maturity, (Table 19). The fact that violence occurs in the family also explains the prevalence of partner or ex-partner figures as the main perpetrators of violence (Table 17).

Under-reporting is confirmed. Three-quarters of the victims who report to the service do not report the violence they have suffered to the relevant authorities (70.9%), and the reasons for not reporting are mainly due to fear and fear of the violent person’s reaction (28.2%) (Table 16). Compared with previous publications, additional information on the reasons for not reporting has been added and is shown in Table 16bis. Finally, the tables made available report information on profile of the victims and perpetrators and the region of origin of the calls and timing of calls by day of the week and time of day.

Useful links

• Web site Violence against women
• Insights into the Public Utility Number 1522
• Mapping of 1522 Anti-Violence Centers by the Department of Equal Opportunity
• Additional tables with weekly and quarterly provincial data on 1522 calls

More information

Alessandra Capobianchi
capobian@istat.it

Maria Giuseppina Muratore
muratore@istat.it

Claudia Villante
claudia.villante@istat.it