In view of International day against violence against women, which is celebrated on November 25th, the data of a fact-finding survey on the implementation of the socio-health care path, within the emergency rooms, for women victims of violence were illustrated today at the Ministry of Health. At the opening of the event, the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci observed a minute’s silence in memory of Giulia Cecchetin and Francesca Romeo.
For the WHO, violence against women is one of the main public health problems: in the world, 1 in 3 women has suffered sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. In Italy, women who arrive at the emergency room after having suffered violence can find a protected path that guarantees: care, safety and orientation to anti-violence services for themselves and their minor children. In Italy it is estimated that approximately 8.6% of women victims of violence who go to the emergency room go to the emergency room more than once.
The rules have been in force since 2017 Guidelines Path for women who suffer violence (Dpcm 24 November 2017) which provide healthcare and hospital companies with operational tools to recognize violence and identify all its aspects and protagonists, support the victim, estimate the risk for their protection, precisely document the violence, inform and direct the victim to the subjects of the network.
Five years after the approval of the guidelines, the Ministry of Health, between June and September 2023, wanted to verify the status implementation of the Guidelines through a questionnaire addressed to all healthcare facilities with level I or II DEA, emergency rooms or pediatric emergency rooms.
“Our health service offers all women a widespread network of services in the area and the emergency room is the place where it is possible to intercept the victim of violence because it is here that the first health intervention is sought – said the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci speaking at the event – As emerges from the data of the Emur System for monitoring emergency assistance, in 2022 in Italy there were 14,448 visits by women to the emergency room with indication of violence, with an increase of 13 % compared to 2021. It is therefore essential to guarantee adequate assistance paths and appropriate training of health workers so that they can recognise, assist and promptly direct cases of violence against women who present themselves to the emergency room”.
L’80% of the facilities (497 emergency rooms out of 618 expected) responded to the questionnaire, divided into different thematic sections: access to the emergency room, diagnostic therapeutic treatment, discharge, territorial network for taking charge, training.
The analysis of the survey responses shows that:
il 77% of the structures has the implementation protocols in use of the path for women who suffer violence83% of the emergency rooms ensures diversified procedures and protected discharge methods in the case of high risk assessment at the 79% of the structures is identified referent of the route the 59% of the structures ensures the presence of a dedicated multidisciplinary team to the path for women who suffer violence in 79% of the emergency rooms there are activities and courses training and update on violence – for health workers in 98% of the structures the woman is informed of the presence in the territory of the anti-violence centers It is in the 99,6% timely information on the possibility of filing a complaint is guaranteed, even by contacting the police directly 79% of the emergency rooms ensures the support of linguistic-cultural mediators by telephone; only in 44% of the structures takes place face to face in the emergency room 94% of the structures guarantees, in the presence of minor children, the possibility that they can remain with their mother and that they are involved in the same journey as her 62% of the structures there is a accompaniment system of women and any children to an external protected facility.
There is no shortage of aspects that require further implementation if we consider that only the 28% of the structures that responded to the questionnaire declare one active social care 24 hours a day and the 39% provides figures of support for women with disabilities.
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