This morning, Police Commissioner Emma Ivagnes and Patrizia Minardi, member of the Equal Opportunities Committee of Soroptimist International of Italy, inaugurated “A room of one’s own“, a protected and welcoming space for victims of gender violence and minors, located inside the Matera Police Headquarters.
Present at the event were the Prefect Cristina Favilli, the Mayor Domenico Bennardi, the Deputy Prosecutor Maria Christina De Tommasi and a large delegation from the Soroptimist International Association – Club of Matera, led by the lawyer Patrizia Minardi of the Soroptimist equal opportunities committee.
The place reproduces a domestic and comfortable environment, where the victims will be able to process their own story and rely on the professionalism of the police, reporting the facts of violence and mistreatment suffered.
The project – said Police Commissioner Emma Ivagnes – implements the purposes identified by the Collaboration Protocol, signed on November 25, 2020 by the Department of Public Safety and the Soroptimist International Association of Italy. The aim is to provide support to victims through a comfortable environment, which encourages empathetic listening and can thus mitigate the traumatic effects of so-called secondary victimization. The room will also facilitate protected hearings of minors, victims of violence, including witnessed violence, recognized as vulnerable categories who require “protected” listening in the presence of a psychologist, due to their age and to protect their psychophysical balance. The hope is that this will encourage victims to contact the Police in cases of violence suffered and help establish that relationship of trust to support them in the delicate moment of formalizing the complaint.
After the first agreements launched at the beginning of this year with Soroptimist International – Club of Matera, a room was identified within the premises of the Police Headquarters which had a suitable logistical location (mainly guaranteeing confidentiality) and work began on the realization of the “A room of one’s own”. The set-up costs – furniture and IT equipment necessary to facilitate the work of listening to the policemen – were supported entirely by the Soroptimist International Association.
In the room there is also a work by the artist Margherita Serra.
