I read with interest this article http://www.lifeinitaly.com/news/news-detailed.asp?newsid=7506

The article doesn't go into detail about whether it is domestic violence or violent crime outside the home, but whatever it is a change in law is not enough. There needs to be support for women at all levels of the legal system, and women need to know that the system works and will protect them.
One major problem to overcome is the fact that violent men manage to persudae women that violence is normal and not to trust the authorities.
I sincerely hope this initiative works because the 1000 calls a month received by the Telefono Rosa is only the tip of the iceberg.

Thank you for posting this as a thread. I had read it too and had to comment on it at my blog (another site.)As a domestic violence survivor, I was very glad to see Italy taking these steps.

You mentioned how men can manipulate women into not trusting the authorities. There are numerous factors involved regarding the abuser-victim relationship, including low self-esteem, that need to be addressed, also.

It is really sad to have to still combat against violence on women in developed countries. Poorer countries where the women are uneducated and jobless is easier to understand, but what completely puzzles me is that even educated, employed women from developed countries sometimes give in to abuse and take it as a part of their lives.

Low self-esteem and a history of abuse in the family may have a lot to do with this. The first step in the fight is of course education on violence----many women simply do not recognise violence when they undergo it!

Ladies you are so right in what you say. When I was a policeman and I went to domestic violence situations what really frustrated me was not being able to do anything unless the victim decided to press charges. And all too often when they said yes at the scene, they then retracted once the situation calmed down.
On one particular occasion I went to a couple where the woman had been the victim of violence for some time. On this occasion a neighbour called the police and when I arrived at the scene both parties were still there. The woman had obviously been hit about the face and body and agreed to her boyfriend being arrested for assault. When I put my hands on him she went mad and jumped on my back. She started hitting me shouting "Leave him alone, I love him!". He then started to defend her and the situation degenerated quite rapidly. In the end both were arrested for assault on police.

This is just to illustrate how low self-esteem plays a huge part in the cycle of abuse: it is better to be abused and with someone than to be alone!
It takes a brave woman to say "no", and we should do more to help these women say "no".