The Intervention System against Gender-Based Violence, coordinated by Dr. Caterina Rotondaro and developed by the Matera City Council’s Planning and Gender Policies Office, was presented in the Mandela Room of the Matera City Council. A systemic approach according to which gender-based violence is not seen only as an individual act, but as the product of a complex system, which includes dynamics that are in constant close relationship with each other.
The method in its various forms is described in a brochure listing the services and useful numbers to call for help. After greetings from Mayor Antonio Nicoletti, speeches were given by Stefania Draicchio, Councilor for Equal Opportunities and Gender Policies of the Municipality of Matera, Dr. Caterina Rotondaro, Plan Coordinator, Dr. Annamaria Lence, Dr. Paola Brancato, Dr. Roberto Di Polito, who illustrated the system, and Dr. Simona Lanzoni of the Pangea Foundation, who presented the 2025 data on the management of the help desk for women victims of gender-based violence and stalking and the Isabella Morra Refuge House. Also speaking were Alessio Coccioli, Public Prosecutor of Matera, Judge Angelo Onorati, Elena Raggio, Head of the Matera Police Headquarters-Anti-Crime Division, Colonel Gianfranco Di Sario of the Carabinieri of Matera, and Andrea Gigliobianco, Health Director of ASM.
According to this Structured Method, there are three areas of application:
· Primary prevention: this is implemented by acting on the social, cultural, and structural factors that contribute to violence, such as psychoeducational and awareness-raising interventions.
· Victim support: an intervention approach that supports the victim by considering their history and context, also intervening at the family and community level.
· Treatment of perpetrators: this also targets men who commit violence, analyzing their social representations.
The services provided by the Municipality of Matera are carried out by a team of psychologists and social workers and include:
· Anti-Violence Center (CAV);
· Help desk for women who are victims of gender-based violence and stalking. Connected to 1522 and a dedicated number (3404549044), managed by the Pangea Foundation;
· CUAV (Center for Men Who Commit Violence),
· Isabella Morra Shelter, protected and managed by the Pangea Foundation, which can accommodate up to eight women with their minor children. The dedicated number can also be used for the Shelter.
The Method also provides for integrated policies to implement a dense collaborative network capable of developing interventions involving victims and perpetrators, based on an understanding of how the system works and on changing the social norms and inequalities that fuel the phenomenon.
· ‘RETE DONNA’ PROTOCOL – Active for several years, it now consists of around 50 public and private social organizations, each with its own specific expertise, working in the field of gender-based violence.
· Permanent round table on gender policies, highlighting the many critical issues and needs of the local area, in dialogue with institutions and third sector organizations.
· In addition, the activities of the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship will soon be restarted to facilitate access to the labor market for women in conditions of psychosocial “disadvantage,” as well as to consolidate or develop their own business or professional activities.
In 2025, 29 women were taken on by the CAV of the Municipality of Matera, 3 of whom were minors, with the majority of women aged between 36 and 45.
Seventy-three people have called the helpline for assistance, and six women and their children have been given shelter at the Isabella Morra Refuge House.
“The number of requests for help is significant when you consider that the area covered is essentially the province of Matera,” says Councilor Draicchio. “The work we have to do must necessarily involve the educational community, preventing gender differences, inequalities, and stereotypes from prevailing in society, as they contribute to normalizing, tolerating, or even encouraging violence. To continue to effectively combat all new forms of violence, we must continue to work, taking into account changes in society, the hidden risks of the internet, and new forms of discrimination, including those linked to artificial intelligence.”