Survey results

Measuring violence against women is difficult since is a phenomenon mostly hidden. This violence is perpetrated very often by a family member and therefore is hard to talk about and to report. The woman feels lonely having to cope with abuses that, once disclosed, would change the life of her loved ones. The emotional and psychological reactions that develop as a consequence of episodic or continuous violence are very complex.

The amount of undisclosed crimes is still high and it is not possible to know the extent of this phenomenon considering only data from administrative sources, with the exception of the femicide. Surveys on victimization of women are crucial to provide the closest figures to the real picture and they are irreplaceable to understand the dynamics of the violence.

Istat is engaged in measuring violence against women since long time. The first survey completely and explicitly dedicated – named survey on women safety – was carried out in 2006 while the second edition was carried out in 2014. The survey was funded by the Department of Equal Opportunity and was the result of the active collaboration of the specialist support services and the contribution of some survivors of violence.

For the first time Istat survey made possible to describe the prevalence of physical, sexual and psychological violence and who are the perpetrators of such crimes. Information essential for policies aimed at preventing and addressing violence against women was made available: the dynamics of violence, the places where it occurs, its severity and consequences, the huge amount of crimes that are not reported to the police.

Istat collects also data on stereotypes about the traditional gender roles and the attitudes towards violence against women.