Preliminary results of the VIVA project presented to the Observatory on Violence Against Women

The second national survey on Centers for Men who Perpetrate Violence (CUAV) has concluded, providing a snapshot—five years after the first survey—of the evolution of these centers across the national territory. Preliminary results confirm the significant dynamism of these specialized services, whose presence in the country has more than doubled over the last five years, with the total number of access points (main and secondary offices) increasing from 69 to 148.

The survey was conducted by IRPPS researchers as part of the VIVA project (Evaluation and Analysis of interventions to prevent and combat violence against women), and the preliminary results were presented today, July 18, during the Assembly of the Observatory on the Phenomenon of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, convened by the Minister for Family, Natality, and Equal Opportunities, the Hon. Eugenia Maria Roccella.

Pietro Demurtas, the VIVA project coordinator, expressed great satisfaction with the excellent outcome of the survey, which was completed by 98 of the 100 programs mapped and invited. Among the results presented today, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, and Lombardy are the three regions where CUAVs are most widespread. Of the four regions that did not have a single CUAV in 2017, only Calabria has seen the establishment of a center, while Basilicata, Molise, and Valle d’Aosta still have none.

In the coming months, the analysis of the data obtained will allow for reflection on structural characteristics, the approaches adopted, and the methods for taking charge of perpetrators of violence, as well as those implemented for monitoring and evaluating treatment effectiveness. Furthermore, it will be possible to shed light on the compliance of CUAVs with standards defined at the national level and on the changes that have occurred following the entry into force of Law 69/2019 (the so-called “Red Code”).

The VIVA project is the result of the Collaboration Agreement signed between CNR-IRPPS and the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (DPO). As part of the project, the CNR is also conducting evaluation activities for the actions implemented under the National Strategic Plan against violence against women.