"CHANGE/minds: violence against women between physical disparity and socio-cultural factors” consists of a series of public meetings and a workshop on the topic of gender violence created by the University of International Studies of Rome in collaboration with the “Francesco Vivona” state classical high school.
Objectives
The project starts with an initial monitoring intervention on the state of knowledge of the issue of gender violence (from harassment to femicide) through the administration of a questionnaire and aims to clearly highlight when gender violence is present, understanding the definition according to Article 1 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women approved by the UN on 20 December 1993, where it is clarified that gender-based violence means: any act of gender-based violence that causes or is likely to cause cause physical, sexual or psychological harm, including threats of violence, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of personal liberty, whether in public or private life.
The intentions of the project are in line with objective 5 of the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development: Gender equality. Reach thegender equality andwomen empowerment (greater strength, self-esteem and awareness) of all women and girls, and with its targets: (5.2) Eliminate all forms of violence against all women, girls and young people in the public and private spheres, including trafficking for the purpose of prostitution, sexual exploitation and other types of exploitation; (5.3) Eliminate all harmful practices, such as forced and arranged child marriage and female genital mutilation; (5.c) Adopt and strengthen concrete policies and applicable laws for the promotion of gender equality and empowerment, i.e. strength, self-esteem, awareness, of all women, girls and girls at all levels. The project is also in line with goal 3 of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Health and well-being. Ensure health and well-being for all at all ages and with its target (3.7) By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services, including those for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.
Actions
The project consists of highlighting all forms of gender violence, from psychological and physical to sexual violence, from persecutory acts of so-called stalking to rape and feminicide, which concern a large number of people discriminated on the basis of sex. The law against gender violence pursues three main objectives: preventing crimes, punishing perpetrators, protecting victims. With the introduction in 2009 of the crime of persecutory-stalking acts, which take the form of any violent and persecutory attitude and which force the victim to change their lifestyle, up to the law on 'Urgent provisions regarding safety and fight against gender violence', judicial protection and support for victims, a series of aggravating circumstances and the possibility of residence permits for humanitarian reasons for foreign victims of violence have been strengthened.
The legislation falls entirely within the framework outlined by the Istanbul Convention (2011), the first legally binding international instrument 'on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence'. The main new element is the recognition of violence against women as a form of violation of human rights and discrimination.
Gender stereotypes are preconceptions that simplify, trivialize and reduce the specific characteristics of an individual to mere generalizations. They are based on simple belonging to a specific gender (female or male). These clichés do not correspond to reality. Gender stereotypes have also influenced, for a long time, women's aspirations and behavior towards women. They have limited the expression of subjectivity, freedom of action and distorted the perception of the feminine in the eyes of men, even going so far as to provide justification for psychological violence and mistreatment.
Violence has negative short- and long-term effects on the victim's physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. The consequences for women can lead to isolation, inability to work, limited ability to take care of themselves and their children. Children who witness domestic violence may suffer from emotional and behavioral disorders. The effects of gender violence impact the well-being of the entire community.
The route is divided into 7 encounters and in a laboratory activity aimed at preparing a video in which to present the decalogue of violence or other multimedia work that highlights the emergence of situations of violence or verifies the level of awareness on the topic in the school and/or territorial context.
Events
Impact
The impact assessment is based on how much primary prevention is more effective when different methods (community mobilization, mass media and public opinion awareness, programmatic approaches through schools and political institutions) are combined and employed at different levels of society. Primary prevention efforts are most effective when they facilitate broader community mobilization against violence. They can have a strong effect on interpersonal, relational, community, and social transformation of individual and collective behavior, attitudes, beliefs, norms, and roles. in a given community as well as implementing local and national strategies to empower women and eliminate gender disparities.
Indicators
The indicators identified to measure the impact of the project are: the number of participants and the measurement of the change in the knowledge and attitudes of the participants after the training course as well as the awareness of violence against women as a public health problem and violation of human rights through a questionnaire to be distributed at the end of the course or through individual interviews.
