Gender violence in Italy - statistics & facts

Despite many women and men being engaged in the fight against gender inequality and violence for a long time, dismantling harmful preconceptions can take generations. Even if statistical data shows that the number of female victims of homicide and the gender pay gap are declining, women in Italy still live in the shadow of male chauvinism. Data on gender violence might not be a clear mirror of the actual violence due to several factors. For instance, women do not always report cases of violence for many reasons. When reporting cases of violence, women are often not believed, fear further violence, and lack support. In addition, in order to report a case of violence, a victim has to be able to recognize and call that act a violence. Educational, cultural, or social background might mislead the interpretation of a violence and bring the victim to identify the act as something ordinary: i.e. gender role stereotypes could influence the perception of gender violence.

Psychological violence and discrimination

Gender violence comes in many forms, such as verbal, physical, and psychological. While they are strongly connected to each other, the latter is the most controversial form of violence and the least contextualized. Among some experts, a form of psychological violence is the discrimination of women due to the expectations related to their role in society and in the family. Data taking into account equalities in economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment place Italy in one of the last positions among EU countries. Women in Italy still have a low participation rate in the economic sector, clearly shown by the low employment figures and the high economic inactivity rates. Although this is a global issue, Italian society views women above all in the role of mother and main housekeeper. For such a large and advanced economy, this view is quite antiquated.

Physical violence

Women are by far more frequently victims of domestic abuse, stalking, and sexual harassment than men. In the last years, there were some 16 thousand reports of stalking in Italy. About 74 percent of these criminal reports were made by women, with the ex-partner being one of the most frequent perpetrators of stalking. Similarly, nine in ten victims of sexual abuse are female. Overall, the number of sexual violence cases reported to the authorities in Italy experienced an increase over the last years. Data on homicides, instead, show that women are more frequently victims of manslaughters and murders committed by their partner or ex-partner. In 2019, about 60 percent of the femicides were committed either by the partner or by the ex-partner of the victim, whereas in 22.5 percent of the cases, the killer was a relative of the victim.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.

Italy's position in gender gap index in the European Union: 21/27

Gender pay gap in Italy: 3.1k EUR per year

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Number of female victims of homicide in Italy from 2002 to 2022

Violent Crime

Number of murdered women in Italy 2002-2022

Distribution of female victims of homicide in Italy in 2020, by relationship to the killer

Violent Crime

Femicides in Italy 2020, by relationship to the killer

Provinces with the highest sexual violence rate in Italy in 2020 (number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants)

Violent Crime

Sexual violence rate in Italy 2020, by province

Recommended statistics

Discrimination

Basic Statistic Opinions on gender or sexual orientation discrimination among young Italians 2020
Opinions on gender or sexual orientation discrimination among young Italians 2020
Do you think there is discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation?
Basic Statistic Young people's opinions on worst types of discrimination towards women in Italy 2020
Young people's opinions on worst types of discrimination towards women in Italy 2020
Which one do you think is the worst form of discrimination endured by women?
Premium Statistic Stereotypes about women in Italy 2021
Stereotypes about women in Italy 2021
Share of respondents from Italy who agree on stereotypes about women in 2021
Premium Statistic Opinions about barriers for women in business in Italy 2020
Opinions about barriers for women in business in Italy 2020
Share of respondents from Italy who believe women face certain barriers in business in 2020
Basic Statistic Young people's opinions on the image of women in the media in Italy 2020
Young people's opinions on the image of women in the media in Italy 2020
What is the image of woman that prevails in the media and advertising?
Basic Statistic Young people's opinion on the gender pay gap 2020
Young people's opinion on the gender pay gap 2020
Do you think men and women in Italy earn the same for equal work and job roles?
Basic Statistic Discrimination of female classmates in schools in Italy 2020
Discrimination of female classmates in schools in Italy 2020
Have you ever seen a female classmate of yours discriminated by teachers and other classmates for her gender?

Physical and psychological violence

Basic Statistic Share of female victims of abuse in Italy 2019, by type
Share of female victims of abuse in Italy 2019, by type
Share of female victims of abuse in Italy in 2019, by type
Basic Statistic Number of murdered women in Italy 2002-2022
Number of murdered women in Italy 2002-2022
Number of female victims of homicide in Italy from 2002 to 2022
Basic Statistic Femicides in Italy 2020, by relationship to the killer
Femicides in Italy 2020, by relationship to the killer
Distribution of female victims of homicide in Italy in 2020, by relationship to the killer
Basic Statistic Women accessing ER because of violence cases in Italy 2021, by access outcome
Women accessing ER because of violence cases in Italy 2021, by access outcome
Outcome of emergency room access by victims of violence against women in Italy in 2021
Premium Statistic Women accessing ER because of violence cases in Italy 2020, by diagnosis
Women accessing ER because of violence cases in Italy 2020, by diagnosis
Main diagnoses among women accessing emergency rooms because of violence cases in Italy in 2020
Basic Statistic Share of women accessing ER because of violence cases in Italy 2020, by age
Share of women accessing ER because of violence cases in Italy 2020, by age
Share of women accessing emergency rooms because of violence cases in Italy in 2020, by age group
Premium Statistic Number of calls to gender violence helplines in Italy 2018-2021
Number of calls to gender violence helplines in Italy 2018-2021
Number of calls made to gender violence and stalking helplines in Italy from the 1st quarter of 2018 to the 1st quarter of 2021
Premium Statistic Calls made by victims to gender violence helplines in Italy Q1 2021, by cause
Calls made by victims to gender violence helplines in Italy Q1 2021, by cause
Number of calls made by victims to gender violence and stalking helplines in Italy in the 1st quarter of 2021, by cause
Premium Statistic Gender violence and stalking cases in Italy 2021, by relationship with the abuser
Gender violence and stalking cases in Italy 2021, by relationship with the abuser
Gender violence and stalking victims in Italy in the 1st quarter of 2021, by relationship with the abuser
Premium Statistic Reactions by victims of gender violence and stalking in Italy Q1 2021
Reactions by victims of gender violence and stalking in Italy Q1 2021
Common reactions by victims of gender violence and stalking in Italy in the 1st quarter of 2021

Sexual violence and harassment

Basic Statistic Number of sexual violence cases reported to the authorities in Italy 2014-2019
Number of sexual violence cases reported to the authorities in Italy 2014-2019
Number of sexual violence cases reported to the authorities in Italy from 2014 to 2019
Basic Statistic Distribution of reports of sexual violence in Italy 2019, by gender
Distribution of reports of sexual violence in Italy 2019, by gender
Distribution of reports of sexual violence in Italy in 2019, by gender
Basic Statistic Number of sexual violence cases reported to the authorities in Italy 2019, by region
Number of sexual violence cases reported to the authorities in Italy 2019, by region
Number of sexual violence cases reported to the authorities in Italy in 2019, by region
Basic Statistic Sexual violence rate in Italy 2020, by province
Sexual violence rate in Italy 2020, by province
Provinces with the highest sexual violence rate in Italy in 2020 (number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants)
Premium Statistic Frequency of sexual abuse or harassment towards women in Italy 2020
Frequency of sexual abuse or harassment towards women in Italy 2020
Over the course of your life, has this ever happened to you?
Premium Statistic Most common reactions to sexual harassment among women in Italy 2020
Most common reactions to sexual harassment among women in Italy 2020
How did you react in the following situation of sexual harassment?

Stalking

Premium Statistic Criminal reports for stalking in Italy 2019-2021
Criminal reports for stalking in Italy 2019-2021
Number of criminal reports for stalking in Italy from 2019 to 2021
Basic Statistic Stalking reports in Italy 2019, by region
Stalking reports in Italy 2019, by region
Number of stalking reports in Italy in 2019, by region
Basic Statistic Reports of stalking in Italy 2019, by gender of perpetrator
Reports of stalking in Italy 2019, by gender of perpetrator
Number of reports of stalking in Italy in 2019, by gender of perpetrator
Premium Statistic Number of stalking reports in Italy in 2019, by age and gender of perpetrator
Number of stalking reports in Italy in 2019, by age and gender of perpetrator
Number of stalking reports in Italy in 2019, by age and gender of perpetrator
Basic Statistic Opinions on major threats online for young people in Italy 2020
Opinions on major threats online for young people in Italy 2020
What do you think is the major threat that people of your age could experience online?

Perceptions

Premium Statistic Opinions on sexist situations in Italy 2021, by gender
Opinions on sexist situations in Italy 2021, by gender
Do you consider the following situations to be sexist?
Premium Statistic Opinions on what can be considered sexual abuse in Italy 2020, by gender
Opinions on what can be considered sexual abuse in Italy 2020, by gender
Do you think this behavior can be considered a form of severe sexual harassment?
Premium Statistic Precautions adopted to avoid unsafe situations in Italy 2021, by gender
Precautions adopted to avoid unsafe situations in Italy 2021, by gender
Which of the following precautions do you adopt in order to avoid unsafe situations?
Premium Statistic Precautions in order to avoid unsafe situations in Italy 2021, by gender
Precautions in order to avoid unsafe situations in Italy 2021, by gender
Do you ever take precautions in order to avoid or face situations in which you feel less safe?
Premium Statistic Perceptions of safety in different situations in Italy 2021, by gender
Perceptions of safety in different situations in Italy 2021, by gender
How safe do you feel in the following situations?

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