Anti-violence centers

Anti-Violence Centers are autonomous spaces run by women, whose primary goal is to initiate cultural transformation processes and address the structural dynamics from which male violence against women originates. In this context, they are facilities that offer – free of charge – support to women of all ages and their underage children who have experienced violence or are at risk of any form of violence, regardless of their place of residence. They support individualized paths to escape violence, engage in training and prevention, raise awareness in the community, and build networks.

The specific expertise and experience of those who manage Anti-Violence Centers are crucial for the quality of the services offered to women. This quality cannot be achieved through a neutral approach that fails to acknowledge that violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between the sexes, which have led to the domination and discrimination of women by men, hindering their full citizenship.

Recognizing the structural nature of violence against women, as being gender-based, means understanding that what occurs at the interpersonal level—often within the domestic sphere—has significance that goes beyond the individual case and is part of a collective context that enables, legitimizes, and reproduces violence against women. Embracing this perspective—currently promoted by legal frameworks—requires not only a commitment to transforming economic, symbolic-cultural, and social structures, but also the adoption of a specific working methodology capable of addressing women’s multiple needs: the methodology of support (metodologia dell’accoglienza), developed over the years and validated by all major international organizations involved in intervention and quality standards for assisting women experiencing violence.

This methodology is based on woman-to-woman relationships, empowerment, self-awareness, and regaining control over personal choices—in both personal and political/social spheres—strengthening internal resources and self-esteem, which are often deeply damaged by chronic violence. It requires moving away from standardized, technical approaches in favor of practices that start by believing a woman’s account and building trust through the relationship.

For these reasons, Anti-Violence Centers must exclusively employ staff with both political and technical training, regardless of their professional background—whether legal, social, educational, psychological, or other—and must possess competencies in needs analysis, risk assessment, guidance through pathways out of violence, and all other necessary activities (training, prevention, awareness, networking). Family mediation techniques are never applied in these centers, and perpetrators of violence are not granted access. Dedicated programs for perpetrators must be implemented in separate locations with different teams.

For all women, regardless of origin, culture, or religion:

• Listening: Initial phone consultations to identify needs and provide basic information. From the first contact, it is essential that women experience empathy, availability, and competence, with respectful and helpful guidance tailored to their needs and desires.
  
• Support and welcoming: Structured consultations to analyse each individual situation and develop a personalized exit strategy from violence. This work reframes personal experiences within a broader cultural and social context. The approach is relational or psychosocial—not therapeutic—focused on raising awareness at the woman’s own pace, offering space to process her trauma. All actions, from activating services to legal complaints or separation, are undertaken only with the woman’s consent, always prioritizing her safety, confidentiality, and autonomy. No predefined solutions are offered—only tailored support and information to help each woman find what works best for her. Group support and self-help groups are an established methodology.
  
• Psychological support: Individual or group sessions when deemed necessary by staff and the woman.
  
• Legal assistance: Informational consultations and legal support from civil and criminal lawyers registered for legal aid throughout all judicial proceedings.
  
• Support for economic and housing independence: Career guidance, connection with employment centers, access to economic inclusion projects and social enterprises, training opportunities, and housing support via agreements with local authorities.
  
• Support navigating healthcare and bureaucracy, including access to welfare programs, such as “Freedom Income” (“Reddito di Libertà”) and microcredit.
  
• Emergency shelter in protected or undisclosed housing when necessary. These are safe places that guarantee physical safety for women and their children for defined periods of time.
  
• Support for children who have experienced witnessed or direct violence. Centers offer reparative programs for children and support mothers in rebuilding the parent-child relationship, often heavily impacted by violence. Children in these programs frequently experience significant healing and develop trust and positive alliances with their mothers, their sole protective parent.
  
• Many centers, with the help of specifically trained cultural mediators, provide support to migrant and asylum-seeking women, victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking, and those at risk of forced marriage or FGM.

Where financial resources are adequate to sustain operations and cover staff costs, centers guarantee operation at least five days a week, including holidays, with a 24-hour phone line and voicemail, and connection to the national 1522 helpline. If locally funded, a 24/7 on-call operator may be available to coordinate with emergency services. The physical structures of Anti-Violence Centers and shelters comply with national and regional safety regulations and ensure suitable facilities that protect privacy and support all activities.

Centers also develop and test prevention and awareness initiatives, promoting training for social, health, legal professionals, and law enforcement, actively working to change the cultural norms and dismantle stereotypes that restrict women’s lives and foster victimization. They function as “social laboratories”, innovating positive models and fostering local networks to address the needs of women and their children collaboratively with all relevant stakeholders.

Objectives

• Challenge the cultural legitimization of violence against women.
  
• Create support networks for women and their children, overcoming fragmented interventions.
  
• Provide safe spaces where women can escape violence and reflect on their experiences.
  
• Offer real opportunities for women to resolve crises through supportive networks for themselves and their children.

Actions of Anti-Violence Centers

• Listening, welcoming, and protecting;
  
• Support to rebuild self-confidence and inner resources;
  
• Legal and psychological support;
  
• Parenting support (rebuilding maternal bonds);
  
• Economic autonomy support (job training, employment, housing);
  
• Awareness-raising in schools and communities;
  
• Joint training programs for social, health, and justice workers;
  
• Building operational networks and protocols.

The Foundation considers supporting Anti-Violence Centers a priority through the provision of resources, knowledge, and connections. It does not aim to create a new network, but to act as a platform that respects and supports the independence and history of existing centers. It serves as a national, inclusive, and open space for dialogue, overcoming political fragmentation and directing all energies toward shared goals.

We amplify the voice of Anti-Violence Centers through:

• Financial support;
  
• Organizational strengthening;
  
• Raising the visibility of center work;
  
• Participating in local center-organized events;
  
• Supporting local advocacy efforts;
  
• Involving centers in national initiatives led by the Foundation.

Anti-Violence Centers have always worked with a gender perspective, recognizing the link between discrimination, lack of power and citizenship, and violence—as clearly defined in the preamble to the Istanbul Convention:

“Violence against women is a manifestation of the historically unequal power relations between women and men, which have led to the domination of and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women.”
“Violence against women is structural, as it is gender-based, and is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared to men.”

Istanbul Convention, 2011