Preventing violence means fighting its cultural roots and its causes. Discrimination, stereotypes related to gender roles and sexism produce conditions favourable for the perpetuation of male violence against women.
It is crucial to implement political strategies aiming at education, awareness-raising of the different forms of violence and promoting equal opportunities in every area of public and private life. Special attention must be paid to the new generations investing in focused educational activities.
The National Department of Equal Opportunity support prevention actions through the National Action Plan with specific commitments:
- to increase awareness among the general public about the structural roots, the causes and the consequences of male violence on women;
- to strength the school system by improving the operational capacity of teachers and school staff to recognize, prevent, bring to light and cope with situations of violence, including witnessing violence:
- to promote education on equality between women and men, to overcome stereotyped gender roles and prejudices, also by revising didactic methods and textbooks, training teaching staff of all levels;
- to train professionals in public and private social sectors to recognize, disclose, care for, evaluate and handle cases of violence against women, including those concerning migrant women, refugees and asylum seekers;
- to reinforce prevention through treatment programmes aimed at preventing perpetrators from re-offending;
- raising awareness in the private sector and the media about the influence of communication on topics such as gender stereotypes and sexism and their effects on the spread of violence against women.
