Fighting GBV and DV Violence – the CREA Project, Milan Italy （打擊性別暴力與家庭暴力—義大利米蘭CREA 計畫）

Cadmi - Casa di Accoglienza delle Donne Maltrattate is the first Antiviolence Centre in Italy, born in 1986. It is founder and partner of the national network D.i.Re. Donne in rete contro la violenza and it is the landmark for women experiencing GBV and DV.
Milan, a city of big dimension in the northern part of Italy, and the metropolitan area are the industrial pole and business square that attract many people moving to the city from other cities or other countries to study and to work.
In the past years of economic crisis the area has attracted many people that come to the city due to economic and working reasons; many are the women moving here with their partners. The city offers a safe place to the women seeking protection and help for GBV and DV, women in fact feel safer even to ask only for information far from the place where they live, where they could be recognized and their privacy and anonymity are not respected.
According to the data gathered by the Antiviolence Centre and the Antiviolence network operating in the city ISTAT and Dire, GBV and DV is a complex phenomenon that sinks its roots in a patriarchal and male chauvinist society crowded by stereotypes and cultural cages. The numbers of the phenomenon are still shocking and it is transversal and often has serious consequences affecting many women and their children. On the other hand we are also experiencing and seeing signs of improvement: more information on GBV and DV creates a different culture that firmly condemns violence.
This is why Cadmi has thought of and put into action a project called CREA – Capability, Rete, Empowerment, Autonomia to empower women to exit violence and to create their future, strengthen the existing network by reaching new actors (public and private companies but also government and public institutions) to spread a new culture.
The actions planned are many, all of them aim at reaching and helping women experiencing GBV and DV to exit and find and build their own personal project of independence and autonomy: emotional, economic and financial.
In the first phase of the project, Cadmi intends to provide psychological support to women of on their exit route, in a second stage, when women are ready, they open the path to reach economic and financial independence.
A new employment support was created even though it is not intended to be a mere match of supply and demand.
The employment service in fact interviews women and it builds a project with them by using different tools: 1) coaching support (individual and groups), 2) writing a CV or rewriting a CV, 3) competence assessment, 4) job interviews simulations, 5) work orientation and 6)project assessment.
The employment service has activated different internship and specific training and education (English lessons, Computer lessons, Economic and Financial education) on a regular basis in our Centre.
Cadmi has also decided to sensitize companies by organizing awareness seminars and workshop going on site and meeting partners, managers, employees.
These actions have granted a virtuous circle, which led to: contacting and reaching many different companies, building a new way of fundraising, printing a new version of our guide on economic violence, helping many women reaching the goal of living free and safe.