Lella Palladino

A sociologist, feminist, and anti-violence center activist, Lella Palladino is an expert in gender issues and has always been committed to designing and managing interventions aimed at preventing and combating male violence, as well as promoting women’s agency and rights—constantly combining professional activity with political engagement. Shortly after graduating with a thesis in Cultural Anthropology, she co-founded the cooperative Co.St.Ante together with colleagues from Professor Amalia Signorelli’s research group, focusing on anthropological studies of the territory.

She worked for five years under a scholarship at the Maternal and Child Services of the Caserta Local Health Unit, developing health education projects for women’s reproductive health and monitoring family counseling centers.

For eight years, she was a member of the Operational Technical Unit of the Campania Region in the area of social policies, serving as a Formez consultant for training support and technical assistance to territorial areas in implementing Law 328/00. She also supported regional offices in the evaluation of Piani di Zona (Local Action Plans) and the development of guidelines.

In 1999, she founded the Social Cooperative E.V.A., an organization led by women active in gender policies, which currently manages:

  • 5 anti-violence centers in Campania

  • 3 shelters for the protection of women survivors of violence, trafficking victims, refugees, and asylum seekers

  • 2 social enterprises—“Le Ghiottonerie di Casa Lorena” and “EvaLab”—focused on job placement and economic autonomy for women leaving violence or facing significant hardship
    These initiatives are based in confiscated properties from organized crime, repurposed for social good. With similar goals, E.V.A. also manages the cafeteria at the Teatro Mercadante in Naples.

She has served on the Board of Directors of the GESCO Consortium of Social Cooperatives, the Regional Coordination of Legacoop Sociali, and its Regional Board.

Since January 2006, she has been a member of CISMAI (Italian Coordination of Services Against Child Abuse and Maltreatment). She was also a member of the National Council of the association DiRe – Donne in Rete contro la violenza for five years and later became its President from 2017 to 2019.

She participated as an appointed member of the technical working group established at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers – Department for Equal Opportunities, contributing to the development of the 2017–2020 National Strategic Plan on Male Violence Against Women.

Since June 2019, she has been a member of the Forum Disuguaglianze e Diversità (Forum on Inequality and Diversity). A mother of three, she is the author of numerous articles and publications. In November 2020, her book “Non è un destino. La violenza maschile contro le donne, oltre gli stereotipi” (“It’s Not Fate. Male Violence Against Women, Beyond Stereotypes”) was published by Donzelli Editore.

In July 2022, she was appointed by ministerial decree as a member of the Scientific Technical Committee of the Observatory on Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, established by the Department for Equal Opportunities.