International Day Against the Women’s violence – Break the Silence

During the International Day Against the Women’s Violence we introduce Break the Silence a project along others in the RBS4Entrepreneurship path that wants to reduce the impact of gender violence. In Italy 31,5% of women have been victims of violence during their lives, and in 2019, 88,3% of women have been killed by a known person. More than 60% of women, worldwide, don’t seek help of any sorts, due to fear, shame or disbelief in the police system.

Break the silence is an app yet to be developed that wants to answer to that: let people feel safe enough to ask for help without the aggressor to know. Only saying a safe word with this innovative background app it’s possible to call the emergency number and ask for help.

The call to help centres will automatically start with the pronunciation of a key word that can happen also during a violence episode and without the need of having the phone in your hand, without resulting suspect.

The team that worked on the project and keep doing it to ensure that it become a reality are: Giulia Filippo, Sara Renzo, Eleonora Papa, Alessia Ravanelli, Riccardo Di Stefano e Mattia Paoloni.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it. In general terms, it manifests itself in physical, sexual and psychological forms, encompassing:

• intimate partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide);
• sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber- harassment);
• human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation);
• female genital mutilation;
• child marriage;

The adverse psychological, sexual and reproductive health consequences of VAWG affect women at all stages of their life. For example, early-set educational disadvantages not only represent the primary obstacle to universal schooling and the right to education for girls; down the line they are also to blame for restricting access to higher education and even translate into limited opportunities for women in the labour market.

Violence against women continues to be an obstacle to achieving equality, development, peace as well as to the fulfilment of women and girls’ human rights. All in all, the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – to leave no one behind – cannot be fulfilled without putting an end to violence against women and girls.

You are not alone – Break The Silence