The anti-violence and anti-stalking hotline 1522: quarterly data for Q3 2024

The published tables refer to the Q3 2024 and contain data on calls (by phone and chat) received by the 1522 hotline, from both users and victims of violence seeking support. As with the publications for previous quarters of 2024 and 2023, the data is collected through a new information storage platform that records conversations with the service operators. For more details, please refer to the updated methodological note.

Compared to previous quarters, the trend in Q3 2024 continues to show growth, with a 37.3% increase in valid calls compared to the same period of the previous year, amounting to 15,349 calls in terms of absolute values (Table 1). The daily trend shown in Table 6 clearly highlights this growth.
Analyzing the reasons for contacting 1522, the increase in requests mainly concerns information about the type of service offered by the helpline, clarification on legal measures protecting victims of violence, and information on anti-violence centers. Compared to the same quarter in 2023, these areas have recorded increases of 42.5%, 42.1%, and 44%, respectively.

Among the reasons prompting victims to seek help, stalking still shows a sharp increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year (+97%). It should also be noted that so-called ‘out of target’ calls continue to grow (+36.6% compared to the same quarter of the previous year). In this regard, ISTAT conducted a technical study on this type of call (using machine learning techniques), revealing that in many cases, these calls are consistent with the service’s objectives but more challenging for operators to identify. This leads us to consider that the increase in such calls may be somehow connected to the more complex issue of underreporting (see, for this purpose, https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/DC2024_S1_Italy_Villante_D.pdf .

The data provide information on the communication channels through which both users and victims contacted the 1522 service (Table 9). Communication campaigns continue to prove effective, contributing to the spread of 1522 in the Q3 of 2024 as well: 5,459 people indicated these campaigns as their source of knowledge of the service, an increase from both the previous quarter (5,037 people) and the same period in 2023 (353 people). The internet, the most traditional channel, remains central in raising awareness (3,022 mentions), while TV has returned to lower levels compared to the previous three quarters, though still showing a significant increase compared to the same quarter of 2023 (+68%). News coverage and subsequent media discussions have a strong impact on this growth.

The 1522 helpline also serves as a territorial hub, connecting victims with the nearest available protection services (Table 10). Consistent with previous quarters, there has been an increase in calls directed to Anti-Violence Centers and Services, Safe Houses, and shelters for victims (94.6%). In this sense, 1522 increasingly constitutes a valuable tool for strengthening the local protection network supporting victims.

As in previous quarters, the most frequently reported primary type of violence experienced by about half of the victims is physical violence (43.1%), followed by psychological violence (35%) (Table 12). Considering cases where victims have experienced two or more types of violence (Table 12bis), psychological violence is most often associated with other forms of abuse, with a total of 1,980 cases. When analyzing the full range of reported violence types (Table 12ter), in addition to physical and psychological violence, threats (1,868) and stalking (867) emerge as particularly frequent, underscoring the service’s importance in combating stalking. Economic violence is also significantly reported, with 906 cases.

Table 13 confirms, in line with previous data, the long duration of violent acts previously highlighted: over half of the victims (52.3%) report having endured violence for years. This prolonged exposure has a significant impact on the behaviors of women who have experienced violence; from the accounts reported to the 1522 operators, 61.7% of victims suffer from anxiety and are in a severe state of subjugation.

Another data point that confirms the continuity of the violence dynamics reported to 1522 concerns the location of the violence: the percentage of victims indicating home as the site of violence remains largely unchanged at 72% (Table 15). This data confirms the high incidence of witnessed violence: over half of the victims (58.6%) have children, and of these, 54% report having minor children. Additionally, 21.3% of victims report that their children have witnessed and experienced the violence, while in 32.5% of cases, the children have only witnessed it (Table 18).

The fact that violence mainly occurs in the domestic setting explains the prevalence of partners or ex-partners as primary perpetrators of violence (Table 17): 50% of victims report the current partner (whether cohabitating or not) as the perpetrator, 21% cite an ex-partner, 0.5% an occasional partner, and 11% family members (Table 17).

The third quarter of 2024 further confirms the phenomenon of under-reporting: 73% of victims contacting the service do not report the violence to the authorities. The main reasons for not reporting are still fear and concern about the perpetrator’s reactions, involving 37.5% of cases (Table 16).

Finally, the tables provided include information on the profiles of victims and perpetrators, the regions from which calls originate, and the timing of calls by day of the week and time of day.

Useful links

• Area web Violence against women
• Insights into the Public Utility Number 1522
• Mapping of 1522 Anti-Violence Centers by the Department of Equal Opportunity (in Italian only)
• Additional tables with weekly and quarterly provincial data on 1522 calls are posted at Gender-based violence in the time of Covid-19: calls to the 1522 helpline – Istat

Per informazioni
Alessandra Capobianchi
capobian@istat.it

Maria Giuseppina Muratore
muratore@istat.it

Claudia Villante
claudia.villante@istat.it