After being trapped at home by Corona, battered Italian women face difficulty in seeking help

Italy witnessed a significant decline in official reports of domestic violence as it approached a month in light of public isolation measures due to the outbreak of the Corona virus, which raised fears among some support groups that forced stay in homes made victims face difficulties in seeking help.

Italy has seen more than 100,000 cases of Covid-19, which represents almost a third of all deaths in the world. It was the first European country to implement general isolation measures.

A parliamentary committee looking into violence against women - quoting official data last week, according to a report published by Reuters - said that police reports of domestic violence fell to 652 during the first 22 days of March when Italy began measures of general isolation compared to 1157 during the same From 2019.

Telona Rosa - the largest group to help by phone in the face of domestic violence in Italy - said that contacts fell by 55% in the first two weeks of March from 1,104 contacts in the same period last year.

Other support groups said they saw a similar decline. The report of the Parliamentary Committee said that this trend does not mean a decrease in violence against women, but it is to some extent a sign that "victims of violence face a greater risk of being subjected to control and abuse by a mistreating partner."

"There are many problems with this situation, perhaps not the least of which is the difficulty of seeking help when everyone is forced to stay at home," said Alessandra Simon, director of the criminal police department in Milan.

Official statistics
Successive Italian governments have passed reforms aimed at improving protection, but 13.6% of women have faced violence from a former partner or partner, according to the General Statistics Office.

"We see a significant decline in women's communication because their freedom is becoming less in this situation of house arrest," said Kiara Senagi, who runs five anti-violence centers in Milan and its surroundings on behalf of the Fundazione Sumaci Foundation for Social Assistance.

Some aid groups and authorities note that they have attempted to offer other forms of communication, including messaging services such as WhatsApp, which has been increasingly used during public isolation procedures in many countries.

The Italian police have modified the last days an application originally intended to allow youngsters to report bullying and drug trafficking near their schools, in order to report family violence by sending messages or pictures without notifying their partners.

General isolation procedures cannot connect
Senator Valeria Valenti, who heads the parliamentary committee, said that the country's cultural and social factors have made it really difficult for many to report domestic violence.

But she added that public isolation has apparently prompted some women - who might otherwise try to leave their partners - to endure. "How do you get out a woman who is supposed to want to report violence? With general isolation procedures, she can only call the anti-violence centers when she goes to the pharmacy or buys food," she said.