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One in three women are violence victims in Italy: report
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-26 00:32

ROME: In Italy one in three women have been victims of violence and ill-treatment, the National Statistics' Office Istat reported Wednesday on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

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A total of 6,743,000 women have suffered physical or psychological violence, said the report.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano warned against the commercial use of women in television, asking for an end to presenting "vulgar feminine images which merely serve consumer desires and are often a vehicle used by the press and the world of advertising."

Napolitano said violence against women is a "real emergency on a global scale" and "it is essential to take concrete actions to spread a respectful concept of women."

More than 4,000 women were protected and freed from stalking in 2009, said Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna.

"Now Italian women have more legal instruments to defend themselves from violence," she said.

Last February Carfagna introduced for the first time in the Italian penal code the crime of stalking, including mental harassment through phone calls, cellphone messages or e-mails.