WUNRN
ITALY - VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN COSTS
17 BILLION EUROS A YEAR - STUDY
20
February 2014
- Violence against women costs Italy €17 billion a
year in social services, prevention measures and other costs, an Italian
charity said this week.
Italy directly spends an estimated €2.3 billion on social services related to violence against women, while more than €14 billion can be attributed to other costs, according to Intervita development figures quoted by ANSA.
In 2012 Italian authorities invested €6.3 million in prevention measures, ANSA said. The same year 124 women were murdered, according to the national statistics agency Istat.
There were a number of high-profile attacks against women and girls in 2013, such as a schoolgirl who was allegedly burnt alive by her boyfriend and a series of acid attacks against women.
The high rate of violence against women has been attributed by some experts as a problem of Italian culture, with attacks on women accepted as a societal norm.
Last summer, however, the Italian government made moves to tackle the issue, appointing a special advisor and introducing a bill which aimed to give greater protection to women.