Vicenza: the pact “INPS is with women” has been signed in favor of women victims of violence.

The scheme was signed this morning at Palazzo Trissino Memorandum of Understanding between the Municipality of Vicenza and the provincial management of INPS for the collaborative management of the activities envisaged by the action line “Inps is with women”: initiative in favor of women victims of violence as part of the “Inps for all” project.

«We are doing significant work together with INPS in our territory – the words of the mayor of Vicenza Giacomo Possamai -. This is an important protocol because it has elements of absolute concreteness. Often for women the first problem is knowing what tools of freedom they have at their disposal, and INPS has some of these tools in its hands. The fact of being able to make them known is a way to allow these women to feel free to make the choice that is right at that moment. Many times we are not able to recognize violence in time and in time. That the public administration is able to understand and sense if there is a situation of violence within a family context is very important. Building this correspondence between the Anti-Violence Centers and the INPS is a very important step forward. We have held many demonstrations in recent years, I am thinking of the one for Giulia Cecchettin in Piazza dei Signori, which saw thousands of people participate: transforming demonstrations into concrete actions is the only real tool we have. This is a small piece of the mosaic of concrete actions that must be implemented in the face of this unacceptable plague."

«The Municipality of Vicenza – explains the councilor for social policies Matteo Tosetto – has always been committed to implementing coordinated and continuous interventions at a territorial level in order to fight violence against many women. We have activated information and awareness-raising paths on the topic and built a network between service operators, the private social sector and the institutions involved. Recently, in addition to having renewed the management of the Anti-Violence Centre, a free and anonymous service for women victims of violence, we have opened a co-planning process to strengthen, coordinate and improve the services. For this reason we have welcomed the INPS initiative to enter into an agreement that regulates the collaboration between the two institutions, aimed at the concrete implementation of the line of activity "The INPS is with women".

Words of satisfaction for the signing of the Protocol, also from Dario Buonomo, director of INPS – Provincial Directorate of Vicenza: «I thank Mayor Possamai for signing this Protocol that we strongly desired. We could briefly describe it in two parts: the dissemination of knowledge of the services offered by INPS to women victims of violence, but also how employee training INPS, this time not only as public officials but also as citizens, on the ways in which violent contexts arise and develop. The Institute has also lost in the past colleagues murdered within the family and has always been on the front line, with the utmost sensitivity and attention, to protect all the women who come to our offices."

The specific line of activity "The INPS is with women" has as its objective: support women victims of violence, facilitating them in accessing INPS information, services and benefits, setting up a protected information channel dedicated to them and formulating the “7-step guide for women victims of violence” on the protections granted by the legislator (for example the income of freedom, leaves and allowances, tax relief, reception of orphans and children of victims of violence in the Institute's boarding schools).

The protocol includes the commitment by the Municipality to involve the Ceav of Vicenza and the anti-violence offices of Arzignano and Pojana Maggiore in the initiative, as well as to publicize the initiative with specially prepared material and to collaborate in monitoring the activities. The INPS, on the other hand, undertakes to offer dedicated meetings for the women in the care of the person who has been entrusted with the implementation of the initiative, to be held in web-meeting mode, guaranteeing the privacy of the interested party, making the email address available tuteladigenere.vicenza@inps.it. Furthermore, both institutions will carry out mutual information and training activities: in particular, the CEAV staff will prepare meetings intended for INPS staff, who carry out front-end activities, aimed at bringing experience and raising awareness about the drama of violence of gender.

At the same time, INPS undertakes to organise, through its staff, training moments for services and operators who deal with the care of women victims of violence (primarily staff from Ceav and anti-violence help desks, social services and family homes), with the aim of illustrating the benefits and concessions (e.g. income of freedom, extraordinary leave, contribution concessions) that can facilitate the economic independence and emancipation of women victims of violence.