A flash mob of protest against gender violence and the subsequent psychological harassment suffered by the victims. The demonstration will take place in Bari next Saturday, April 27th: from 4.30pm to 7pm participants will be able to lay pairs of jeans on the ground in Piazza del Ferrarese, to give life to a sign of silent protest. The collected jeans will then be donated to Caritas, family centers and social communities in the city. The ‘Denim Day’ event is organized in the Apulian capital by the Univox association. The president, Serena De Sandi, told BariToday the genesis of the project and the reasons that led to its creation.
“The initiative is carried out annually by the Break the Silence association, but it had never been organized in Bari and so we at the Univox association proposed – explains Serena De Sandi to BariToday – Our association has already organized the flash mob in Perugia in recent days. Now it’s Bari’s turn: we will do it at the weekend to allow for a greater turnout“.
Univox’s activity intersects with the initiative scheduled for next Saturday in Piazza Ferrarese. “We take care of raising citizens’ awareness of all forms of discomfort, especially psychophysical, in developmental age – explains the president of the association – We are focused on the adolescent and young adult segment, but we also receive many testimonies from boys and girls who recount episodes strongly connected to gender violence“.
The event program includes evocative moments and others dedicated to information on the problem. “On the day of the event there will also be a psychologist with us, we are finalizing the final organizational details to structure the event – declares President De Sandi – At the base there will be a flash mob: the participants will arrive in Piazza Ferrarese to hang out their jeans as a sign of protest. We will leave posters to explain, to those who don’t know, what Denim Day is. We will also plan information sessions, in which we will explain the worrying statistical data which reports the increase in gender violence and ‘victim blaming’ (the secondary victimization)“.
It is not uncommon for sentences to be passed that leave victims of abuse bitter. Some legal devices propose reconstructions of facts which tend, in some way, to perpetrate the trauma experienced by the victim. In some news episodes, the creeping and insidious concept associated with the thought that ‘the victim went looking for it’ seems to emerge among part of public opinion: this generates a perverse mechanism of blaming those who have suffered violence and abuse. “Secondary victimization occurs when a person who has suffered violence re-experiences trauma or in any case suffers further forms of violence – underlines De Sandi – This is primarily a female condition, however it is an aspect that must be considered in all forms of abuse and prejudice. It is a process that somehow reawakens the wound of a violent trauma suffered. The endorsement of totally unjust and unfounded acts can push us to get used to this condition which is definitely not normal“.
The Univox association was born in Bari, driven by Serena De Sandi and the other founding members. The sprout of the activities was born 4 years ago with the opening of a social channel. “Our Univox association was born with the aim of giving a voice to those who feel they don’t have one – says the president – This is the motto that unites us. As emerges from the chosen name, our association was born from the idea of creating a voice that offers support, warmth and closeness to all those who feel they cannot talk about their experience. Univox is a social promotion association founded in October 2022, our Instagram page was already born in 2020. Ours is a non-profit association with registered office in Bari, but it acts throughout the national territory: in fact, we were born on Instagram as a training project to provide support and listening to university students”.
“We deal with raising awareness related to psychophysical well-being in developmental age and policies to combat youth distress, especially going to schools and organizing university conferences – continues Serena De Sandi – We have collaborated with public and private bodies also in other cities such as Perugia, Rome and Pisa. Our association is a large family, especially of students and young people: the youngest volunteer is 16, the oldest is 48. There are students, psychologists, teachers, but also other categories of workers (website and social pages) we explain what services we offer: the psychological desk and the one for students, the blog, and other various forms of support. We are organized as an association to focus on problems related to students, but we later gave up I realize that the need to be listened to and to express oneself in a safe place involves all age groups. In fact, there is no shortage of testimonies from parents or older people who want to share their stories“.
Univox doesn’t just deal with gender violence. “We have a blog where we publish anonymous testimonies and discuss certain problems with psychologists which also concern depression, anxiety and eating disorders“, concludes president Serena De Sandi.
