The evil we must talk about
"Violence against women continues to persist as one of the most heinous, systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world. It is a threat to all women, and an obstacle to all our efforts for development, peace, and gender equality in all societies." Ban Ki moon, United Nations Secretary General, 2014.
It is a fact that violence against women and femicide is not a country-specific phenomenon, it affects women worldwide regardless of wealth, race and social status. The physical and psychological suffering is unimaginable - women are being systematically abused, tortured and killed - often by very same people who promised to protect and cherish their love in marriage vows.
Often brutality and death, camouflaged by the universal sentiment of love, can result from rape, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, stalking, sexual exploitation - prostitution and pornography. And serious crimes are committed in the name of ‘honour’.
It is also a fact that violence against women - in particular domestic violence, is a crime grossly unreported still - especially for cases in which victims and assailants know one another. Assailants persist in saying that what happens within the privacy of their home is a ‘private’ matter. Sadly, victims may become convinced that this is the case and, more worryingly, that they have deserved the beatings.
As if it weren’t bad enough, the Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) downplays considerably the scale of violent crime against women. Their statistics cap the number of separate crime incidents allowed to be reported by a single victim to five when the suspect is known to the victim. This means that a man can beat his partner every other night, yet the CSEW will only record five offences (1).
Despite advances in sexual equality, femicide and crime against women is very much present, which is why the Embassy of Italy of the United Kingdom, together with the London-based charitable organisations of Il Circolo and Bocconi Alumni Association are taking the lead by organizing a conference on this pressing subject. On Friday, 20th November a panel of distinguished guests from the arenas of academia, law and politics will discuss head-on how society should address domestic violence and femicide.
YOUMANITY applauds Silvia Limoncini, Embassy of Italy and Marina Fazzari, Il Circolo for their efforts in raising awareness of this very important social issue.
The panel will include the following guests:
Valeria Fedeli
Baroness Patricia Scotland
Simonetta Agnello Hornby
Marina Calloni
Melissa Morbeck
Friday, 20th November 2015
6.30 pm sharp
Italian Cultural Institute
39 Belgrave Square
London SW1X 8NX
To book your please click here
1. Sylvia Walby, professor of sociology and Unesco chair of gender research at Lancaster University