Violence against women is often invisible even in the eyes of justice workers: magistrates, lawyers, psychologists, counselors. How and where to intervene? In the 18th Legislature, the Senate Femicide Commission adopted a statistical approach to evaluate anti-violence policies with objective criteria. And it identified weaknesses in a protection system that still struggles to fully protect victims.

In 2014, 4.4 million women in Italy were physically or psychologically abused by their partner: one woman in four, among the ones in a relationship. In 2016, 149 women were murdered, 111 of whom (that's three in four, about 75%) by a family member. More than 4,000 women reported sexual violence, over 13,000 were victims of stalking - that's almost a 50% increase compared with 2011 - and 14,000 reported being abused.

Almost 57,000 detainees at 30 June 2017: with 113 inmates per 100 places available, the prison crowding rate in Italy has gone up by 5 points compared with 31 December 2016. In eight regions the figure exceeds 120%. In Apulia, it has reached 148%, nearing the index that in 2013 led the European Court of Human Rights to condemn Italy over the "inhuman or degrading treatment" of detainees.