Through generosity and collaboration, the Inner Wheel Sassari Centro club creates 40 backpacks, a symbol of a community that takes care of women in moments of vulnerability
From:
Sardinia Live editorial team
It’s called “Pink Suitcases”, the solidarity project of the Inner Wheel Sassari Centro (IWSC) club which aims to provide immediate support and dignity to women victims of violence. The initiative is part of the context of the Pink Code, a pdta – diagnostic therapeutic care path – of the AOU of Sassari which involves various company structures and which guarantees a priority path for victims of physical, sexual and psychological violence.
The initiative was presented this morning in the premises of the general management of the Aou of Sassari, in the presence of the president of the IWSC club, Rosa Foddai, of the health director of the Aou, Lucia Anna Mameli, of the administrative director of the Aou, Dolores Soddu, of the directors of the structures involved in the Pink Code Pdta activated by the Viale San Pietro company: Alessandra Nivoli and Fabrizio Demaria, representatives of the Pink Code Coordination, envisaged by the Aou as a transversal figure of the SSD Psychiatry and Hospital Psychology, therefore Paolo Pinna Parpaglia director of the Emergency room and Obi, and Giampiero Capobianco, director of the women’s and children’s health protection department as well as of the obstetrics and gynecological clinic. Furthermore, representatives of the other company structures involved in the Pdta Pink Code were also present. The meeting was opened by the director of General, Legal and Communications Affairs Marina Iole Crasti.
The “Pink suitcases” I am emergency kit containing basic necessities such as clothing and personal hygiene products, designed for those women who, victims of violence, arrive at the emergency room without any personal belongings and who, given their situation, cannot return home.
Hence the importance of Don’t leave women alone in these difficult moments: «Our goal – he states Rosa Foddaipresident of the Inner Wheel Sassari Centro club – is twofold: providing immediate help and raising awareness in the community about the seriousness of violence against women, a phenomenon that must not be underestimated or ignored.”
Thanks to the generosity shown during a charity evening and subsequent donations, the club was able to achieve this 40 suitcasesoffering a first concrete gesture of care and attention.
«These suitcases – says the health director of Aou Sassari Lucia Anna Mameli in expressing appreciation for the project – represent more than a simple gesture of solidarity; they are the example of a community that takes care of its women, guaranteeing them respect and support in moments of greatest vulnerability.”
«The commitment of the Inner Wheel Sassari Centro club – he adds Dolores Sodduadministrative director of the Aou of Sassari – is a confirmation of the fact that the path we have taken, that of collaboration between volunteers and institutions, can really make a difference in people’s lives”.
The emergency room therefore represents the healthcare context to which victims of violence turn most frequently for help. «Our structure – he states Paolo Pinna Parpaglia – is often the first point of contact for victims of violence. Our goal is to ensure early recognition and effective support, always respecting the dignity and confidentiality of victims.”
In 2023in Italy, there were requests for help for episodes of domestic or gender violence suffered by women 13,793. In the emergency room of the Santissima Annunziata of Sassari, with the code relating to gender violence, in the last year there have been 73 victims. These data, which reflect an alarming reality, underline the importance of initiatives such as that of the Inner Wheel Sassari Centro club.
«The pink suitcase initiative – he adds Fabrizio Demaria – contributes to guaranteeing logistical support to victims. There suitcase represents the opportunity to restart in freedom from a place of safety from which to restore the individual needs of the person, after the forced act suffered by those who violated them, and benefit from the necessary welcome and protection”.
“The project ‘Pink Suitcases’ – he claims Alessandra Nivoli – is an example of how solidarity and empathy can be transformed into concrete actions. These backpacks are not just a symbol but a tangible support.”
“The ‘Pink Suitcases’ – he concludes Giampiero Capobianco – they are much more than a simple emergency kit. For women victims of violence, they are a beacon of hope and a bridge to begin a path that allows them to rebuild their individuality and dignity.”
The strengthening of support services for victims and continuous awareness raising are fundamental to guarantee a fair society free from gender violence. A highly topical topic which, every day, reports acts of violence, aggression and feminicides on the news pages of newspapers. And the University Hospital of Sassari started right from here, with a care path which, responding to national guidelines, was approved in July 2023.
A path, the Pdta developed by the AOU of Sassari, Code Pink path and for people in fragile conditions, victims of violent abusewhich represents a real help tool, which aims to guarantee timely and adequate care of women and their minor children, starting from the emergency room triage. A tool that accompanies and orients them, if they consent, to the services present both within the Aou and in the territory, to develop a multidisciplinary assistance project for escaping the experience of violence.
The corporate structure involved in the Pdta Code pink they are: Coordination of the pink code with hospital psychiatry and psychology, quality of clinical governance and risk management accreditation, emergency room and obi, child neuropsychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology clinic, forensic medicine, infectious and tropical diseases clinic.
In 2023 the Aou of Sassari established two “Pink code rooms” dedicated to victims of gender violence, where they are welcomed, assisted, supported and cared for. The rooms were opened in Emergency room of the Santissima Annunziata and on the ground floor of Maternal-Child Palace from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic.
