November 25 marks the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women". The International Telematic University UNINETTUNO, which has always been sensitive towards the topics promoting integration and against discrimination, decided to actively participate in the campaign by illuminating, for the whole weekend, its headquarters in Rome with red lights, the symbolic color of the event.
This event was institutionalized on December 17, 1999, by the United Nations General Assembly with resolution number 54/134, in which this violence is defined as "one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations that, to date, goes unreported, due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame that characterize it."
Why November 25 in particular? This day was chosen in memory of the Mirabal sisters (Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa), who were brutally tortured and murdered on Nov. 25, 1960, in Santo Domingo on the orders of dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. The three women were on their way to the prison to visit their husbands, who were detained because they were opponents of the regime. In memory of the three sisters on November 25, 1981, there was the first International Feminist Meeting of Latin American and Caribbean Women in Bogota, and since that time, this date has been recognized to remember and denounce the physical and psychological mistreatment of women.
In 2022, there were unfortunately 104 feminicides in Italy. The names of the victims were projected, along with a red light, on the exterior facade of the Chamber of Deputies building in Montecitorio. "Exercising violence against a woman or exploiting her is not a simple crime, it is a crime that destroys the harmony, poetry and beauty that God wanted to give to the world," read a tweet by Pope Francis. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, also wrote a statement on the occasion: "Violence against women is an open violation of human rights, unfortunately widespread without geographic, generational or social distinctions. Significant efforts have been made in recent decades to recognize, eliminate and prevent it in all its forms. However, for too many women, the right to a life free from violence is still not a reality."
Throughout the weekend, therefore, the headquarters building of the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO will remain illuminated in red to express solidarity with an issue that is unfortunately still all too topical today.
International Telematic University UNINETTUNO Press Office
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