THE INTERNATIONAL PROTESTING SYMBOL OF GLOBAL FEMICIDES 

FEMICIDES ITALY

Gino d'Artali
Indepth investigative journalist
Cryfreedom and radical feminist
11 Jan 2022

Me being an Italian I especially wanted to investigate the situation of femicides in Italy and below are my findings although nothing much could be found of the year 2021 as if there were no femicides in the past year. But I'll keep digging 'till I expose predators i.e. femicides that took place in 2021 and update periodically this page.
At the end of the page you can read my personal conclusion.
Thank you,
Gino d'Artali

Below my findings i.e. report:

Accordng to the https://www.statista.com/statistics/782314/female-victims-of-homicide-in-italy/ 
2821 women were a victim of femicide between 2002 and 2019 meaning 156,72 a year. But... I HATE STATISTICS!!! As if a woman is a number. Every victim was and is one too many and we should not be in need for burocrats putting these kind of numbers together!!! Of course I make use of it now but only to create awareness and to ask you to take action! Join the many (feminist) action groups active in your city i.e. country.

25 nov 2021
Wanted in Rome

<<Femicide: Outrage in Italy as TV presenter asks if women at fault
This data was released by Italy's central anti-crime directorate on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November.> >>
Source: https://www.wantedinrome.com

18 sep. 2021
By Gino d'Artali

I heard some rumour on the news so I called my 'feminist accomplice' in Napels who confirmed the rumour and said that a television journalist has sparked outrage in Italy after suggesting that a recent spate of killings of women could have been provoked by the <exasperating> victims. Her comments have sparked outrage on social media and have been condemned strongly by politicians and women's rights groups. I'm sure the outrage will one day find its ways to the street. Grazie mile 'accomplice'

THE LOCAL it
15 Jan 2020

<<Milan artist shows beaten faces of famous women for street art campaign.

The bruised and battered faces of Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel stare out of posters in Milan created by Italian artist AleXsandro Palombo to raise awareness of violence against women. The street art campaign is called <Just Because I am a Woman>, and also features US Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Sonia Gandhi, the head of India's main opposition party.
READ ALSO: Violence against women: X-rays of broken bones show the scale of Italy's problem
Palombo intends <to illustrate the drama that affects millions of women throughout the world… with the aim of denouncing, raising awareness and obtaining a real response from institutions and politics,> his press office in a statement.
<Violence against women is a global problem that affects everyone regardless of race, class or religion,> the posters say.
The women, with bruised faces or bearing strangulation marks, testify: <I am a victim of domestic violence, I am paid less, I have undergone genital mutilation, I don't have the right to dress as I want, I can't choose who I'm going to marry. I've been raped>.
The contemporary pop artist and activist, 45, is renowned for colourful, reflective and irreverent works and uses satirical art to raise awareness of social and cultural issues.>>
Read more here:
https://www.thelocal.it/20200115/milan-artist-batters-famous-womens-faces-for-street-art-campaign/

THE LOCAL it
25 Nov 2019

<<Violence against women: X-rays of broken bones show the scale of Italy’s problem.

One Italian hospital's display of x-rays speaks louder than words. Especially since the women whose shattered bones are shown in the sterile black and white images rarely speak out.
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a hospital in Milan is displaying X-rays from victims of domestic violence who have passed through the doors of the facility seeking help.
The display at San Carlo Borromeo hospital was the idea of trauma surgeon Maria Grazia Vantadori, 59, who wanted to show the stark reality of what she has seen in her 26 years of practice.
Although women arrive at the hospital bloodied, sometimes cut, burned, or with acid thrown in their faces, Vantadori opted for the more sterile images of X-rays, deeming them more powerful.
<I didn't want it to be gory, just to show something true, real and not fake. This is telling the truth, it's not made up,> Vantadori told AFP.
<The good thing about X-rays is that we're all the same, substantially. Our bones are all the same. So any of these could be any woman,> she said.
In Italy, 142 women were killed through domestic violence in 2018, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier, according to Italian research institute Eures, a number that campaigners say is disturbingly consistent.

In the last five years, 538,000 women were the victims of physical or sexual abuse by their partners, according to Italy's national statistics agency Instat. Experts say those numbers are conservative because women are reluctant to come forward, partly due to fears of leaving their homes and children.
The show in the hospital's lobby features about a dozen images: X-rays of a broken nose, a shattered wrist, crushed finger, shin or rib snapped in two, interlaced with quotes from anonymous women.
One recounted how her partner smashed her face against the kitchen wall and pummelled her with blows, 43 times.
<I counted the blows to try to distract myself from the pain, otherwise I'd be dead,> the woman said.
In one of the most powerful images, a long butcher's knife is seen encased within a ribcage.>>
Read more here:
https://www.thelocal.it/20191125/violence-against-women-x-rays-of-broken-bones-show-the-scale-of-italys-problem/

THE LOCAL it
24 Nov 2019

<<Tens of thousands march in Rome to protest murder of women.

Tens of thousands marched in Rome on Saturday calling for an end to violence against women, remembering the dozens killed this year by current or former partners.
March organisers <Non Una de Meno!> (Not One Less!) say 94 women have been killed by their partners or former partners this year.
The procession moved through the city's old quarter behind a large banner that read: <Against your violence, we are in revolt!>
Banners from political parties and unions were absent at the request of the organisers and many of those taking part wore pink, the colour of choice for the demonstration.
<We are the fierce and powerful voice of all those women who no longer have a voice,> said one banner.
A float that played music along the route also broadcast the names of women killed by their partners or ex-partners this year.>>
Source: https://www.thelocal.it/20191124/tens-of-thousands-march-in-rome-to-protest-murder-of-women/

On the same page there are 2 related links/articles about:
Code Red: Italian prosecutors flooded by reports of domestic violence and sexual abuse
Code red: Italy passes new domestic violence law
Italy considers harsher sentences for attacks on women

The Guardian
Angela Giuffrida in Rome
24 Nov 2019

<<'Life should mean life': Italian activists call for tougher femicide laws.
Swift judicial processes and more funding for shelters are badly needed, say campaigners.

Sara Di Pietrantonio was 22 when she was strangled and burned to death by an ex-boyfriend who could not accept the relationship was over. Her smouldering body was found at the side of a road on the outskirts of Rome by her mother, Concetta Raccuia. The police officer leading the case said Di Pietrantonio’s murder in June 2016 was the most heinous crime he had ever seen. Four months later, Stefania Formicola, 28, was shot dead in Naples by the husband she was trying to leave. Her two sons are being cared for by their grandmother, Adriana Formicola.
As more than 10,000 people marched in Rome on Saturday to mark the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Raccuia and Formicola shared their stories with the Guardian. More than three years have passed since their daughters were murdered but Italy is still struggling to protect women from violent men. Official figures released last week showed 142 women were murdered in 2018, up from 123 in 2017. Of that number, 119 were killed by their husband, boyfriend or former partner. In more than 30% of the cases, the perpetrators described themselves as jealous and possessive.
Formicola said: <It’s a tragedy that never ends and a pain that is with you every day.>
Sara was Raccuia’s only child. <It isn’t easy but I always tried to teach Sara to overcome difficulties in life and to never live with anger,> she said. <I’m now putting all my energy into transforming this misfortune into something that might help others, by raising awareness of psychological abuse – that is what destroyed Sara. We need to really understand the dangers, as psychological abuse is often trivialised but then it ends with death.>

So far this year, there have been 95 femicides. Domestic abuse, rapes and stalking cases are also on the rise. On Saturday, a 51-year-old married man confessed to murdering Ana Maria Lacramioara Di Piazza, 30, in Palermo. He allegedly stabbed her to death after she revealed she was pregnant. Another man was arrested last week for allegedly leading a gang rape of his wife, from whom he had recently separated.
Rita Teodori, a representative for D.i.Re, the women against Violence Network, said: <The data is alarmingly high and each year it seems to get worse. The only solution is to come together and fight, as we’re not being listened to.>
Activists are demanding more government funding for shelters for women escaping domestic violence. Italy has failed to stick to a law outlined by the Istanbul convention, an international agreement aimed at ending violence against women. The law obliged the country to host a certain number of shelters. In Rome, for example, there should be 300 beds available for women fleeing violence; instead there are 23.
Miriam Tola, an activist with the feminist alliance, Non una di Meno, said: <Quite often women are murdered as they try to leave violent men. Therefore, shelters are essential for enabling them to create a path of autonomy. But the funds for shelters and prevention are completely insufficient.>
The majority of the existing shelters are run by associations such as D.i.Re and volunteers, and many of those are on the verge of closure. Volunteers set up Casa Lucha y Siesta in a former train station in Rome in 2008, providing 14 beds for women and children, along with services to help them get their lives back on track. The volunteers are embroiled in a battle with Atac, the public transport company that owns the building and wants to sell it to help reduce its debt.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/24/life-should-mean-life-italian-activists-call-for-tougher-femicide-laws

Note by Gino d'Artali: And remember: : My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali

Wanted in Rome
25 Nov 2020

Number of women killed in Italy so far in 2020 down slightly from same 10-month period last year but still one murder every three days.
91 women have been killed in Italy in the first 10 months of 2020, compared to 99 during the same period last year, according to a report by the EU research agency Eures. The study found that the number of victims of femicide in Italy this year equates to a woman killed every three days, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

The report was released yesterday, ahead of the United Nations-sponsored International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which is held annually on November 25.

Italy protests as violence against women rises

The number of femicides that took place in a family setting from January to October this year was 81, down from 85 in the same period last year. The number of femicides within the context of a couple remains unchanged at 56 (the same number as January-October 2019), while the number of women murdered by neighbors rose from zero to four. The EURES report found that from 2000 to 31 October 2020, 3,344 women were murdered in Italy, accounting for 30 percent of the country's 11,133 murders over the past two decades.
Women murdered by partners or ex-partners accounted for 66.2 percent of housewife murders and 61.5 percent of all women murdered, ANSA reports, and the killers are 94 percent male.

Italian police track down haters on social media

The Covid-19 lockdown in Italy acted as an <accelerator> of feminicides, according to EURES, with domestic homicides accounting for 80.8 percent of the total during the three-month lockdown earlier this year.
This factor was acknowledged yesterday by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who said that <due to the restrictive measures> during the coronavirus emergency, we have involuntarily caused deep distress, causing the number of cases of femicide during the lockdown to <triple>. .
Italy moves closer to making violence against LGBT people a hate crime

This phenomenon is not unique to Italy, with the United Nations citing restricted movement, social isolation and economic insecurity caused by Covid-19 as factors increasing women's vulnerability to domestic violence around the world.
The UN has said that violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world and that it remains largely unreported because of the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it. >

Italy: Four arrested for alleged gang rape of two British teenage girls
The UN estimates that 35 percent of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual partner violence or sexual assault by a non-partner at some point in their lives.

Women suffering from gender-based violence in Italy can seek support from the volunteers of the multilingual women's helpline Telefona Rosa .>>
Read more here:
https://www-wantedinrome-com.translate.goog/news/one-woman-killed-every-three-days-in-italy.html?_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=nl&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=nui,sc

Note by Gino d'Dartali: www-wantedinrome-com’s server DNS address all of sudden could not be found. Maybe a server problem. An apology on their behalf.

The article which was online partly in English and Dutch. The Dutch part has been translated by Gino d'Artali

THE LOCAL it
30 Aug 2019

<<Code Red: Italian prosecutors flooded by reports of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Italian prosecutors warned on Friday that a new law designed to fast-track cases of domestic and sexual abuse was overwhelming the system with record numbers of victim reports.
The law, which came into force on August 9th and has been dubbed Italy's <Code Red>, requires prosecutors to gather information from alleged victims and decide how to proceed within three days of receiving police reports. Since then there has been a spike in reports: some 30-40 incidents daily have been flagged in Milan, an average of 30 a day in Naples and 25 in Rome since the law took effect, the Repubblica daily said.

READ ALSO (Note by Gino d'Artali: link is embedded as part of the article: Italy passes new domestic violence law

<It's not a case of a rise in crimes, but a rise in the number of reports by people who — encouraged by the new law — are going to the police,> said Genoa prosecutor Francesco Cozzi. Supporters say the new legislation has positive elements: it makes <revenge porn> and <deformation of looks> (causing permanent scarring) a crime and allows judges to clap electronic bracelets on those slapped with restraining orders. But in large cities on-duty prosecutors have found themselves interviewing 20 complainants in an arc of 24 hours. Prosecutor sources in Milan described being <inundated by a flood of reports of alleged abuse, violence or persecution, day in and day out>, the Messaggero daily said. >>
Read more here:
https://www.thelocal.it/20190830/code-red-italian-prosecutors-flooded-by-reports-of-domestic-violence-and-sexual-abuse/

THE LOCAL it
Catherine Edwards
20 June 2016

<<Why Italy must change after young woman’s brutal murder.

Sara Di Pietrantonio was just 21 years old. In what was described by a Rome police chief as the worst crime he'd seen in his 25 years in the role, the student suffered a torturous death at the hands of her ex-boyfriend.
Driven by jealousy, Vincenzo Paduano followed her home after a night out, ramming his car into the back of hers before dousing the vehicle with a flammable liquid and setting it alight.

Di Pietrantonio was able to escape from the car, but he chased after her. The student is said to have screamed for help from passing motorists, but nobody stopped. The 27-year-old security guard then set her alight. Her still-smouldering body was found a few hours later by her mother.
Paduano soon confessed to the crime, telling investigators that he couldn't accept that she'd abandoned him.
He also reportedly admitted: <I am really a monster. I am obsessive, paranoid, jealous.>
Di Pietrantonio became the 55th <femicide> victim in Italy so far this year – three more were murdered by either a spouse, boyfriend or ex within a few weeks after.
Last year, 128 women were victims of femicide, the year before there were 136. Thousands more have suffered domestic abuse or are stalked by men.
These figures come from Telefono Rosa, a women's rights organization offering legal advice and counselling.

But they are just the tip of the iceberg: an estimated 90 percent of these crimes go unreported.

In some ways, the situation has improved. Italy's government has taken steps to address violence against women, introducing an ‘anti-femicide’ law and appointing a government advisor on the issue in 2013 – after being shamed into action by a damning UN report, which called domestic abuse <the most pervasive form of violence in Italy>.
But while legislation is an important step, changing the mentality and culture that lie behind the attacks will take much longer. Most femicides and rapes are carried out by partners or – most often – ex-partners, according to figures from Istat released in 2015, which also showed that while the overall number of incidents has declined slightly, acts of violence are becoming more serious, with more women fearing for their lives.
Divorced or separated women are most at risk, with over half suffering violence (compared to 31.5 percent on average), and attacks often occur after the victim has begun a new relationship, as was the case with Di Pietrantonio.
Disturbingly, a 2015 study by non-profit organization We World found that one in four young Italians believed violence against women could be justified by <love>, or exasperation at the woman or her clothing.

So how can the country get to the root of the problem and tackle the perception of violence as a legitimate reaction to rejection?

Centres offering anger management courses and other treatment, aimed directly at men who consider themselves violent, are growing in number across the country.
The president of Ferrara’s Cam (Centre for violent men), Michele Poli, says there is no common factor among the men the centre has worked with.
<Violence against women happens across-the-board,> he told The Local. <It’s about a patriarchal culture which validates violence against women and prevents effective action against it,> he said, adding that every member of society must actively work towards change.>>
Read more here:
https://www.thelocal.it/20160620/how-can-italy-stop-violence-against-women/

THE LOCAL it
20 feb 2014

<<Violence against women costs Italy billions.

Violence against women costs Italy €17 billion a year in social services, prevention measures and other costs, an Italian charity said this week.
Italy directly spends an estimated €2.3 billion on social services related to violence against women, while more than €14 billion can be attributed to other costs, according to Intervita development figures quoted by ANSA.
In 2012 Italian authorities invested €6.3 million in prevention measures, ANSA said. The same year 124 women were murdered, according to the national statistics agency Istat. There were a number of high-profile attacks against women and girls in 2013, such as a schoolgirl who was allegedly burnt alive by her boyfriend and a series of acid attacks against women.
The high rate of violence against women has been attributed by some experts as a problem of Italian culture, with attacks on women accepted as a societal norm.>>
Read more here:
https://www.thelocal.it/20140220/violence-against-women-costs-italy-billions/

Note by Gino d'Artali: There are 3 related articles/links on the same page:
Anger in Italy as men cleared of rape because victim was 'too masculine'
Italy's top court rules physical appearance 'irrelevant' in rape cases
Italy makes 'revenge porn' a crime

Last summer, however, the Italian government made moves to tackle the issue, appointing a special advisor and introducing a bill which aimed to give greater protection to women.

THE LOCAL it
14 Aug 2013
Opinion
Sophie Inge

<<‘Violence against women is a cultural problem’.

A new law will tackle head-on the issue of violence against women, according to the Italian government. But as the number of victims continues to rise, is Italy really doing enough? The Local spoke to some Italian campaigners to find out. Two days ago, Antonella Russo – a mother of three – was shot dead by her estranged husband at her mother’s home in Siracusa, Sicily. On the same day, a lawyer was arrested in Verona, northern Italy, after the body of his ex-girlfriend was discovered in the boot of his car. These attacks are just the latest in a wave of so-called ‘femicide attacks’ in Italy, or the killing of women by males. In June, Italy’s biggest trade union, the CGIL, recorded 81 victims in 2013 alone. And in 2012, the number of victims stood at 124, according to Italy’s national statistics agency ISTAT. Last Thursday, the Italian government passed a new anti-femicide law, which it trumpeted as a <radical change> in the <relentless fight against the sad phenomenon of femicide>.
Measures include the obligatory arrest of those caught in the act of stalking, or physically abusing victims, and obligatory police investigations once complaints have been lodged. Women will now be kept informed about any legal processes involving their attackers, and violent partners will be evicted from family homes.

'Prevention and education'

But for Luca Cardin, editor of Zero Violenza Donne, a website that aims to raise awareness about gender violence, the new law is nowhere near radical enough. While he acknowledges it helps protect victims of violent crimes, he claims that it is also ‘repressive’ and simply doesn’t go far enough. For Cardin, the fact that the government decided to issue the decree in August is extremely telling.
<In August, people are on holiday and not paying much attention to the news, so there is less debate. Even my editorial team are on holiday, so there is less chance to react,> he told The Local.

<The law is positive in terms of the protection it offers to victims, but it doesn’t mention anything about the culture of violence against women, or about education in schools. <Not enough is being done in terms of prevention. In the new law, there is no mention of the financing of new centres, which are vital in terms of prevention and education. Children also need to be taught more about gender equality and sexuality in school. Other countries do this a lot more,> he added, pointing out that, in 2012, the World Economic Forum ranked Italy 80th in its gender gap ratings.
Above all, he said, there are still widespread myths about gender violence that need to be dispelled.
<In most cases, it’s a boyfriend, a husband or someone who lives under the same roof as the woman. Only in a minority [of cases] are the attackers unknown,> he said. <While cases reported in the press tend to concentrate on foreign attackers, they are in fact predominantly Italian.>

Anti-violence centres

As well as sex education classes, Cardin and his colleagues would also like to see more investment in <centri di antiviolenza> (anti-violence centres), where women who are victims of violence can seek help and take shelter. <These [centres] are important because as well as offering support to women who have suffered from violence, they can also help them to identify warning signs that can lead to dangerous situations and to offer them psychological support in their daily lives. <Physical violence is just one aspect – although it may be the most appalling – of abuse, which can also be financial or psychological.> The creation of anti-violence centres, as well as a new programme for anti-violence education in schools, would be more in line with what Josefa Idem, the former Minister for Equal Opportunities and Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies had in mind, he claims.>>
Read more here:
https://www.thelocal.it/20130814/violence-against-women-is-a-cultural-problem/

Personal conclusion by Gino d'Artali so far:
perpetrators are around every corner of the globe incl. every corner of Italian streets.
And that's excactly the reason why I will continue to hunt down and expose their horendous crimes
because one woman killed, wherever in the world, is one woman too much!