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The 25 September 2025 Istat published the new tables on violence in the first quarter of the year. Physical violence remains the most common form, affecting almost half of the victims (39.8%), followed by psychological violence (33.8%). In cases where victims report multiple types of violence, it is psychological violence that most frequently occurs in combination with other forms. Violence is also on the rise in the digital world. In the In 2024, reports of online crimes fell by 3%, but the number of people under investigation has risen by 12%. The Female victims account for 73% of cases. Yet the legislation remains inadequate and the path to justice for victims is still fraught with obstacles.
However, this data is only part of the picture and does not fully describe the phenomenon of male violence in Italy: women who cannot access services because they belong to vulnerable and marginalised groups, such as ethnic minorities, migrants, refugees, and women with disabilities, remain on the fringes, or are entirely invisible. disability o in condizione di prostituzione.
According to Istat, the percentage of foreign women who have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives is 31.3%, very similar to that of Italian women (31.5%). Physical violence, however, is significantly more common amongst foreign women (25.7%) than amongst Italian women (19.6%). As for sexual violence, foreign women report higher rates of rape and attempted rape (7.7% compared with 5.1%). In the anti-violence centres, more than a quarter of the women accommodated are foreign and live in precarious socioeconomic conditions. As for the women involved in prostitution, they are the category least considered by institutions and often also by activism. Mostly foreign victims of trafficking. (Fewer than 3% of sex workers are Italian) and without support networks, in 2025 according to Not One Less There have been two femicides of women in prostitution, but the phenomenon is likely underestimated.
In generale, la violenza maschile prospera in un contesto culturale e sociale che continua a distribuire in modo squilibrato il work domestico e di cura (Italy is lagging behind when it comes to paternity leave), mantiene basso il tasso di Employment femminile e, attraverso politiche migratorie sempre più securitarie e punitive, rende le donne migranti particolarmente vulnerabili alla violenza e allo sfruttamento.
The numbers aren't comforting, with the exception of one relevant figure. As Federica D’Alessio pointed out, it is no longer possible to claim that “they kill one a day”: in the first quarter of 2025, there was a halving of femicides compared to the previous year. To date, compared to 2024, the number of women killed has fallen from 91 to 73 in 2025in 2023 there were 99, in 2022, 105)
Whether anything is changing is difficult to say right now, and pointing out this data is not intended to proclaim the end of the patriarchy. A decreasing number does not minimise the loss of Ilaria Sula, Sara Campanella, and the dozens of other women murdered in 2025.
But perhaps the change in public discourse about the murderers of women, accompanied by growing indignation and a decreased propensity to justify them - especially after the demonstrations following the murder of Giulia Cecchettin This has influenced the behaviour of those who commit acts of extreme violence.
È vero però che un a cambiamento positivo si sta accompagnando anche una pericolosa radicalizzazione nel senso opposto: gli Incel, le organizzazioni di padri separati e in generale la nuova forza dell’estrema destra in Italia, in Europa e oltre, minacciano questo principio di cambiamento consapevole.
Nel mezzo le istituzioni, un apparato che per sua constitution ignora e allo stesso tempo si fonda sulla subordinazione femminile nel pubblico e nel privato.
The violence of institutions
“It's a state-sponsored murder,” Elena Cecchettin stated regarding her sister's femicide, and, according to the data, it appears all women are aware of this. In fact, only a minority of them, regardless of nationality, choose to report it, primarily due to a lack of trust in institutions, a trust that, according to Istat, decreases proportionally to how much the woman is exposed to violence.
Le istituzioni sono ancora restie a rivoluzionarsi e agiscono spesso una forma di violenza pubblica “sussidiaria” a quella maschile privata. Questa violenza si manifesta, per esempio, nell’uso strumentale della cosiddetta teoria dell’alienazione parentale nei tribunali che separa le madri dai figli. Secondo un’indagine dell’associazione Goap (centro antiviolenza di Trieste), in più del 70%: cases of child custody following separation, even when there are legal complaints, investigations or convictions for paternal violence, children are placed in shared custody, and only in % of cases does the judge restrict the violent father’s parental responsibility.
Consensus, a problematic concept
Another recurring problem is the tendency to turn rape trials into a veritable persecution of the victim. In this scenario, an important step forward is represented by the Boldrini bill, which introduces the principle of “free and revocable consent”in sexual intercourse. While the discussion on the effectiveness of instrument of consent in the context of sexual violence, This change helps to shift the centre of gravity of attention no longer to the burden of proving refusal, but to the recognition that violence is such even in the absence of explicit denial.
The right against women's rights
Tornando al governo, nonostante l’appoggio all’introduzione del «consenso» nelle norme contro lo stupro, l’esecutivo Meloni resta tra i più silenziosamente ostili ai diritti delle donne. A differenza dell’aperto sostegno al razzismo, la misoginia legale viene perseguita in modo silenzioso e discreto, evitando di renderla un tema centrale o visibile nell’agenda politica. Per esempio, nel 2024 sono state approvate misure che allow anti-abortion groups to operate in clinics, without openly questioning the right to abortion, but making it practically unworkable. At an international level, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2024, Italy has lost over twenty positions, dropping to 87th place in the global gender equality ranking, and is ranked fourteenth in Europe.
This is not surprising information, considering the political nature of FdI and Lega, and their affiliation with European far-right network, insieme a realtà come il partito ultraconservatore polacco PiS, Vox in Spain e il Rassemblement National francese, tutte in lotta contro il multiculturalismo, i diritti civili, dalla Hello reproductive rights to LGBTQI+ rights.
The power of these interest groups is growing stronger, exerting influence even on governments of different political leanings, such as the moderate government of Latvia, which has reneged The Istanbul Convention, cedendo alle pressioni delle forze ultraconservatrici. La Civil society lettone si è rivoltata contro la decisione dei suoi governanti. In Italia, intanto, cosa stanno facendo i movimenti femministi contro questa ondata nera che ci minaccia?
The split within Italian feminismArtemisia case
If there is one thing that the large popular mobilisation over the feminicide of Giulia Cecchettin has taught us, alongside almost seventy years of struggles for women's rights, it is that feminism's capacity for protest represents an indispensable engine of cultural and social transformation. For decades, feminist movements have been at the forefront of the battle against male violence against women, serving as a fundamental point of reference for raising awareness, supporting victims, and fighting to shape an equitable legal system. For this reason, a fragmented movement, torn by internal divisions should be a cause for concern and stimulate deep reflection.
The divisions within Italian feminist movements are ideological, methodological and generational. A case in point is the recent exclusion of Artemisia, a long-established Florentine anti-violence centre, from the D.i.Re network for having opened up membership to men as well.
L’esclusione degli uomini, ovvero il separatismo alla base dei centri antiviolenza (Cav), affonda le radici nelle origini stesse di queste realtà nate negli anni Ottanta nei collettivi femministi e nelle Case delle Donne. In quegli anni, il femminismo italiano, profondamente influenzato dal dialogo internazionale, sviluppò un forte legame con la filosofia del femminismo della differenza, con esponenti di rilievo come Carla Lonzi. Uno strumento politico considerato utile da questa corrente è proprio il separatismo, considerato fondamentale per l’autocoscienza e la lotta contro la violenza maschile.
On the other hand, a new generation is emerging that has been introduced to feminism primarily through social media, starting with the #MeToo movement in 2015.
Nel femminismo intersezionale – termine coniato dall’attivista afroamericana Kimberlé Crenshaw – il concetto chiave è l’inclusione, anche degli uomini, considerati vittime del patriarcato e del modello maschile soffocante. Proprio per questo, secondo tale corrente, è necessario che gli uomini si aprano alla battaglia e che i centri ne accolgano la partecipazione, affinché possano portare un contributo concreto al cambiamento. In Italia, questa prospettiva è stata adottata soprattutto dai movimenti più Giovanni, come Not One Less.
Qui emerge una delle fratture più evidenti tra i diversi femminismi. Per il femminismo della differenza, che parte da un’analisi della funzione patriarcale della violenza, quest’ultima è fondamentalmente maschile, radicata in una struttura di potere che nega l’autonomia femminile. Il linguaggio più recente, invece, ha ampliato il concetto di “violenza di genere” oltre la dicotomia uomo-donna, includendo persone LGBTQ+, soggetti non conformi al genere e uomini vittime di altri uomini. La divisione è sul possibile rischio di deresponsabilizzare gli uomini. “Per noi difendere la relazione tra donne significa difendere uno strumento politico fondamentale per contrastare la violenza di genere – ha dichiarato a Kritica Cristina Carrelli, presidente di D.i.Re – In questa fase storica c’è un tentativo di neutralizzare il dato di genere della violenza. Ma se non si riconosce questa caratteristica, sbagliamo l’intervento di contrasto.”
Performative feminism
This clash of methods and languages is not merely theoretical, nor is it confined to “insiders”: it risks consuming energy and attention, diverting activists from the real objective, which is to counter the patriarchy and protect the movement from those in various sectors of society who wish for its demise or try to instrumentalise it. To the distraction of activists is added the lack of a widespread feminist culture, rendering the movement vulnerable to distortions and trivialisations. The internet and social media, which had fuelled a new feminist awakening ten years ago, have ended up transforming feminism into a fashion and commodity, emptying it of its political potential. Hence the proliferation of so-called performative feminism, where slogans and images serve more to construct a personal identity than to generate collective awareness. the private chat affair of influencers like Carlotta Vagnoli and Valeria Fonte, at the centre of an investigation for stalking along with Benedetta Sabene, shows how performative feminism risks degenerating into narcissistic self-exposure that weakens the real movement. As observed Giorgia Serughetti on DomaniIf anything significant emerges from the case of the “bad“ influencers, it is, on the contrary, precisely the confusion that seems to reign over what it means to be a feminist, to be part of a movement, and more generally to engage in politics.
In light of the data on violence, a phenomenon that remains structural, and international trends that threaten women's rights, Italian feminism appears unprepared. If the movement fails to overcome its internal divisions and find an effective synthesis of different perspectives, it risks losing ground, leaving room for market instrumentalisation and power struggles, rather than focusing on the fundamental challenge: the fight against patriarchy.
PHOTO CREDITS: Valentina Ceccatelli – Flickr – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0
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