In a world suffocated by so many forms of violence, our response must be radical, without compromise.
The numbers are relentless: from January 1st to today, in Italy, there have been 106 victims of feminicide. There are almost 7 million women between the ages of 16 and 70 who have suffered some form of physical or sexual violence in their lives and, in 2022, more than 20 thousand have turned to an anti-violence center and over 30 thousand have calls to 1522, the anti-violence and stalking number.
Women are threatened, pushed or pulled, slapped, kicked, punched and bitten. The most serious forms of violence are exercised by partners, relatives or friends: in half of the cases of femicide the murderer is the husband, the partner or ex-partner, the cohabitant; in other cases the son, father, brother-in-law, son-in-law, father-in-law, colleague or acquaintance. The rapes were committed in 62.7% of cases by partners, in 3.6% by relatives and in 9.4% by friends. Even physical violence (such as slaps, kicks, punches and bites) is mostly the work of partners or exes.
In addition to physical or sexual violence, women with a partner also suffer psychological and economic violence, i.e. behaviors of humiliation, devaluation, control and intimidation, as well as deprivation or limitation in access to their own economic resources or that of their family.
We can no longer turn a blind eye to a problem that has its roots in the very structure of society. It is no longer acceptable to claim that it is an isolated phenomenon or limited to a few violent individuals: "Not All Man" can no longer be a shield to hide behind. It is time to stop barricading ourselves behind this empty rhetoric. Continuing to pretend is an act of complicity!
This work is not just an observation: it is a war cry against gender violence. Simple figures, clean lines and bright colors to capture the attention of observers and convey a sense of immediate urgency. Anyone who is faced with it must feel invested with a call to action, a summons to confront their own complicity in perpetuating a violent system, must feel inspired to become an active part in the demolition of a system that perpetuates gender violence. No more excuses, no more silences.
It's time to move from contemplation to action, to transform anger and indignation into a driving force for change.
Project created for @fondazioneonda in collaboration with @stradadedarts
in CASERTA, in Via Alberto Beneduce.
in CASERTA, in Via Alberto Beneduce.
Photos and videos by Antonio Visinali - STOKED Studios