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The helpline 1522 during the pandemic period - I Quarter 2021

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 the 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 in the first quarter of 2021 continued to increase, 7,974 valid requests and 4,310 victims, + 38.8% if compared to the first quarter of 2020, but far from the peak of the second quarter of 2020 (12,942 valid calls). Still it is increasing the percentage of requests for help via chat, which reached 16.3% of the modalities (they were equal to 11.5% in the first quarter of 2020).

Among the reasons that lead to contacting the toll-free number, there is a sharp increase in calls for “requests for help from victims of violence” and “reports for cases of violence” which together reach the 48.3% (3,854) of valid calls. In the period considered, compared to the same period of the previous year, they grew by 109%, while requests for information on the number 1522 decreased (-37.6%). People who called 1522 for the first time in the first quarter of 2021 are 84.8%. Among the victims this figure reaches 88.1%. The victims who contacted 1522 reported having suffered multiple types of violence in 62.1% of cases (more specifically, 2 in 23.3% and 3 or more forms of violence in 38.8% of cases). One type of violence was reported by 37.9% of the victims; physical violence is the most frequent type.

The 1522 service plays an important role as a hub at territorial level between services supporting victims: 66.5% of the victims in the first quarter of 2021 were directed to a territorial service (a decrease if compared to the quarters of 2020) and of these 57.1% (equal to 2,462 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.

26 August 2021: table 13bis was replaced in the tables for the first quarter of 2021, with regard to economic violence only, following the new provision of data. Consequently, table 13ter was also recalculated.

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