Italy is confronting a grim and persistent reality. Violence against women has become one of the country’s most visible social crises, a tragedy that repeats with such regularity that it has begun to expose systemic failures inside Italian policing, politics and culture. The outrage builds after every killing, but the structural weaknesses remain unchanged.
A Crisis Quantified
The latest figures from the Italian Interior Ministry show that Italy recorded 120 femicides in 2024, almost identical to the 119 cases in 2023. More than 80 percent of these killings were committed by current or former partners. Domestic violence reports have risen steadily, crossing 150,000 complaints filed between 2020 and 2024, yet conviction rates remain disproportionately low given the scale of the problem. In 2025 alone, authorities registered over 30 femicides by mid-November, reaffirming that the downward curve Italy has promised for years has yet to materialise.
Systemic Failures Behind the Statistics
A recurring pattern emerges in case after case. Women repeatedly approach police with detailed threats, but incomplete risk assessments mean that restraining orders, surveillance measures or rapid interventions either arrive late or not at all. Italy has introduced the “red code” system to fast-track domestic violence cases, yet data from the Justice Ministry shows that only around 22 percent of red-code complaints lead to swift precautionary measures. In many regions, prosecutors face backlogs, and victims are left waiting while danger escalates.
Cultural Norms That Encourage Silence
Italy’s crisis is not only institutional. It is cultural. Surveys from the national statistics agency ISTAT reveal that nearly one in four Italian men holds attitudes that minimise or excuse partner violence. Among women, about 30 percent say they would hesitate to report abuse because of social stigma or fear of being judged by family. These cultural barriers are strongest in the country’s south, where conservative norms still shape family dynamics and women frequently lack economic independence.
Shelters and Support Systems Struggling to Keep Pace
European guidelines recommend at least one shelter bed per 10,000 residents. Italy provides barely one third of that, with many shelters operating at maximum capacity and depending on unstable regional funding. Victims often face long waits for psychological support or safe housing. The shortage is particularly severe in Sicily and Campania, where documented cases of violence are high but institutional support remains weak.
Children Growing Up in Violence
Data from 2020 to 2024 shows more than 30,000 minors witnessing domestic violence incidents, often within the same households where femicides later occur. Psychologists warn that Italy risks creating generational trauma if early intervention continues to be neglected. In several high-profile murder cases of recent years, children were present during the act, highlighting how deeply domestic terror is embedded inside Italian homes.
Legal Reforms That Struggle to Deliver
Governments have implemented reforms such as stricter stalking penalties, electronic monitoring of violent partners and mandatory police training. While the framework is strong on paper, its execution remains uneven. The Court of Auditors reported in 2024 that only around 55 percent of Italian police officers have completed updated domestic violence training modules, leaving a large portion of frontline responders ill-equipped to evaluate risk or handle survivors sensitively.
A Youth-Led Push for Accountability
Younger Italians are challenging the status quo. Protests against femicide have drawn thousands in major cities. The “Non Una di Meno” movement has documented more than 1,200 femicides since 2017, a shocking figure that continues to animate public debate. Social media campaigns such as #BastaFemminicidi have helped expose institutional delays and forced political leaders to confront questions they previously avoided.
The Road Ahead
Italy has the data. It has the warnings. It has the legislative framework. Yet women continue to die because the institutions respond when it is too late and society still expects women to navigate danger quietly. Specialists insist that Italy must shift from reactive policing to preventive protection, expand its shelter network, correct cultural biases inside law enforcement and challenge the social norms that normalise male control.
The numbers reveal a crisis that is not declining but stabilising at an unacceptably high level. Italy knows what is happening. The question is whether it has the will to change it.
