#SignalForHelp, the gesture to ask for help against domestic violence

The Pandemic accentuates situations of domestic tension and with them violence. Eco Cooperative and Napoli Femminile together to promote the initiative born in Canada

Cooperativa Sociale Eco and Napoli Femminile united against domestic violence. In times of Covid, violence within the four walls has quadrupled and often women are unable to defend themselves even by reporting the brutality in progress. The message comes from Canada and, like a tam tam, is also spreading in Italy and a synergy has been born between the main women's soccer sports reality in Campania and the social cooperative that has always focused on the world of children and the condition of women today.

The result is a video that went viral online. Thanks to the Canadian Women's Foundation, a universal signal was born to communicate that domestic violence is taking place. It is spreading around the world: it is a simple gesture to draw attention in a dangerous situation at home. #SignalForHelp is the hashtag that marks the International symbol to highlight the dangerous situation. When you see a woman who raises her hand and touches her palm with her thumb and her four fingers close, as if it were a greeting, it means that she is in danger.

The video can be downloaded from this link: https://we.tl/t-TtBLbyC1am

The video is visible at this link: https://youtu.be/jFf6-tjoFMw

The campaign was born in North America. On that occasion, a girl, beaten by her boyfriend, to put an end to the beatings, used the ruse of a phone call to order pizza, only that instead of calling the take-out pizzeria around the corner, she called the local police operations center. The officers immediately understood the drama that was unfolding, sent a patrol to the site, probably saving the young woman's life. "If you see someone addressing you with this strange greeting, call 1522 immediately" was the slogan of the campaign.

For Napoli Femminile, full-back Elisabetta Oliverio and center-forward Isotta Nocchi took part in the campaign: “Now that femicide has increased exponentially, it is essential to report the violence that occurs daily and it is important to do so in a “modern” way – the two Italian soccer players affirm -. Through social media, the message arrives immediately and some scabrous situations could be avoided”.

“Among the effects of the pandemic on women – explains the promoter of the initiative in Campania, Sofia Flauto, animator of the video together with Marina Vacca – there is the escalation of domestic violence. The pandemic worsens the situation because it accentuates family tensions and those that explode following forced cohabitation”.

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The data available to date, the dossier says, already suggest that since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, violence against women and girls, especially domestic violence, has intensified in several countries. In the first ten months of the year, calls to the toll-free number 1522, the switchboard of the Department of Equal Opportunities, increased, exceeding the levels of previous years in 10 months. The worst period was the lockdown: between March and May, requests more than doubled (+119%) compared to the same period in 2019. Those via chat tripled, as did calls arriving at night or very early in the morning.

Signal for Help was launched in response to Covid and is now being shared by several organizations around the world. It is designed as a one-handed gesture during a video call to silently communicate that you need help.

Watch the video