The anti-violence and anti-stalking hotline 1522: quarterly data for Q4 2024
The published tables update the information framework on 1522 call data for the fourth quarter of 2024. Through this update, it is also possible to observe and compare the trends of the two years 2023 and 2024 recorded by the public utility service made available by the Equal Opportunity Department-Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The data reports, as in previous publications, information from both users and victims of violence and stalking who contact the 1522 service, via chat and telephone.
Compared to the previous quarter of 2024, the fourth quarter confirms an upward trend, with an 8.8 percent increase in calls, amounting to 16,710 (Table 1). The daily trend (Table 6) shows this growth for almost the entire period analyzed, with the exception of the final phase, starting on November 18. On this date, in fact, the previous year had seen a particularly significant increase, influenced by the well-known news events, such as the feminicide of Giulia Cecchettin, which had a strong impact on public awareness of the issue of violence against women.
However, despite this difference in the overall trend, November 25 continued to show a peak in calls in line with that of 2023, confirming the strong effect that this recurrence has on call trends. The comparison between the two years clearly shows the overall increase in the number of chat and phone reports received by 1522 during 2024: in fact, considering the total calls of the two years, an increase of 25.8 percent overall is observed. This highlights how this service (due to both the media effect of promotional campaigns and news events) has expanded its user base, responding to requests for support and information on the topic of violence and stalking.
Analyzing the reasons why people turn to 1522, the increase in requests compared to the third quarter of 2024 mainly relates to requests for information on the services offered by the public utility number, clarification on regulatory tools to protect victims of violence, and information on anti-violence centers. Compared to the previous quarter, these areas registered increases of 8.7 percent, 4.9 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively. The increase in this type of motivation is the same comparing the overall 2023 and 2024 data (+25.8%, +61.0% and +51.6%, respectively). It emerges that in 2024 there is a growth of stalking requests for help compared to 2023 of +32.5%).
By contrast, calls for help from victims of violence remain essentially stable, with a smaller increase of 1 percent compared to the previous quarter. However, in the 4th quarter of 2024, these calls still account for a large share, accounting for 20 percent of total valid calls (Table1). Between 2023 and 2024, invalid calls decrease (-2.8%).
As Table 3 highlights between 2023 and 2024, the number of users consisting of relatives, friends, and acquaintances reporting cases of violence expands (doubling between the two years, +108%), as does the use of this service by operators both for requests for help for victims and for other types of information (information on shelters+41.8%, information on 1522 +34.8%).
Data provide information on the communication channels through which both users and victims have approached the 1522 service (Table 9). Communication campaigns continue to prove effective, contributing to the spread of 1522 in the fourth quarter of 2024. In this period, 4,503 people indicated these campaigns as a source of awareness of the service, maintaining a slightly downward trend from the previous quarter (5,459 people) while still registering a significant increase from the same period in 2023 (2,039 people). This trend confirms the positive impact of campaigns in making the service increasingly known and accessible, fostering greater information and awareness among the population. When comparing the 2024 data on 2023 in this regard, awareness of 1522 through campaigns has grown significantly. Both the Internet and TV continue to play a key role in disseminating the service. The Internet, with 4,153 reports in Q4 2024, is confirmed as the second most used channel, while TV, indicated by 1,279 people also in the same quarter, still maintains an important relevance in the awareness of the service. In this regard, looking at the overall data for 2023 and 2024, 52 percent, more people became aware of this service in 2024 than in 2023.
1522 hotline represents a connection point at the territorial level, facilitating the link between victims and the nearest protection services (Table 10). In line with previous quarters, the increase in the number of calls resulting in referral to Anti-Violence Centers and Services, Protected Houses and shelters for victims is confirmed (95 percent). This figure reinforces the role of 1522 as an essential tool in strengthening the local support network to protect victims.
Physical violence, similar to previous quarters, is confirmed as the main type of violence experienced by almost half of the victims (40.9%), followed by psychological violence (34.3%) (Table 12). When considering cases in which victims experienced multiple forms of violence (Table 12bis), psychological violence is the most frequently associated with other types, with a total of 1,944 reports. Looking at the overall violence reported (Table 12ter), in addition to physical and psychological violence, threats (2,147 cases) and stalking (933) emerge with particular frequency, highlighting the service’s fundamental role in combating stalking. Also significant is the share of reports related to economic violence, amounting to 952 cases. Such trends can also be seen when looking at the overall data of the two years compared.
Table 13 highlights the prolonged duration of violent incidents, with more than half of the victims (51.3 percent in Q4 2024) reporting that they have experienced them for years. This prolonged experience profoundly affects their emotional and behavioral state. In fact, the testimonies collected by the 1522 operators show that 59.1% (data referring to Q4 2024) of the victims manifest anxiety and a condition of strong awe.
Another data confirming the continuity of the dynamics of violence concerns the place where it occurs: the percentage of victims who indicate the home as the scene of violence remains substantially unchanged, standing at 68 percent (Table 15). Again, the trends are similar in the two years under consideration.
This figure confirms the high percentage of cases of witnessing violence: also for Q4 2024, more than half of the victims (55.1%) have children, and of these, 57% say they have minor children. In addition, 27.2 percent of victims report that their children witnessed and experienced the violence, while in 35.2 percent of cases their children only witnessed the violence (Table 18).
The fact that violence occurs mainly in the family environment explains the prevalence of partner or ex-partner figures as the main perpetrators of violence (Table 17). The data remain unchanged from the previous quarter of 2024: 50 percent of victims cite their current partner (cohabiting or not) as the perpetrator, 21 percent their ex-partner, 0.8 percent a casual partner, and 11 percent a family member (Table 17). However, looking at the data as a whole over the two years, ex-partners grow in 2024 compared to 2023 (+47.1% ex-partners, +15.8% ex-partners, +44.2% lovers). This may in part explain the growth in stalking calls for help.
As with the location of violence, there is no change in under-reporting from the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2024, 72.9 percent of victims who contact 1522 do not report the violence they experienced to the appropriate authorities. The main reasons for this not reporting remain fear and fear of the perpetrator’s reactions, affecting 38.5 percent of cases (Table 16).
At last, the tables made available report information on the profile of victims and perpetrators and the region of origin of calls and the timing of calls by day of the week and time of day.
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Alessandra Capobianchi
capobian@istat.it
Maria Giuseppina Muratore
muratore@istat.it
Claudia Villante
claudia.villante@istat.it