Why are protesters in Italy holding a minute of noise to stop violence against women?

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Transcript

00:00 "Together we will return, not one, not one, not one, not one."

00:07 People across the world today are joining to campaign to stop violence against women.

00:13 But in Italy the demonstrations have been heightened by the death of 22-year-old Giulia Cecchettin.

00:19 Giulia's sister Elena is calling for all men to check themselves and their behaviour towards women,

00:25 after Giulia was found dead on Saturday near a lake with multiple stab wounds.

00:30 "We need to provide sexual and emotional education in order to prevent these things.

00:36 We need to finance anti-violence centres so that if people need help, they are able to do so.

00:43 And for Giulia, I ask you not to be silent for a minute. For Giulia, burn everything."

00:48 These words, taken from a poem of Peruvian activist Cristina Torres Caceres,

00:54 ignited protests across Italy in the week leading up to the 25th of November,

00:59 with students from several schools and universities holding a minute of noise and asking for change.

01:06 "As students, we don't feel safe, neither from a personal point of view,

01:15 in the sense that we know that the harassment happens,

01:18 we know that it happened to our friends and colleagues when they came home alone in the evening,

01:24 but also during the day, but also in bars, but also in the corridors of the university.

01:30 That's why it's important to hold a minute of noise in the demonstrations."

01:34 And while the Italian government has announced new measures and funds for their anti-violence plan,

01:40 and more support for a helpline for victims of stalking and violence,

01:44 Italian activists and students believe more can be done.

01:47 "I would therefore ask the Italian government to be brave in admitting that they have a problem with gender violence,

01:53 to put real solutions in place, starting with schools that talk about gender violence,

01:59 that talk about patriarchy, that talk about what consensus is,

02:02 and to give men the tools to understand that they live in a patriarchal society

02:05 and that what they do, even when they don't kill, even when they don't rape,

02:12 can be a seed of violence."

02:16 For more UN videos visit: www.un.org/webcast

02:21 This program was made possible by the European Union