ROME – The ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’ on Saturday shall see a protest in streets of the Eternal City, from Piazza della Repubblica to Piazza San Giovanni. 

 “We are not willing to lose another woman to the violence of a man or to any other form of violence,” said Tatiana Montella from the ‘I decide’ network during a press conference with the FNSI (Italian National Press Federation).

 “In Italy,” confirmed Montella, “a feminist movement is starting to take shape, from a grassroots level, that wants to bring female voices to the surface. This will happen on Saturday, without political parties, institutions or unions.”

 Testimonies of women and artists are to be heard throughout the day, including from the parents of Valentina Milluzzo, the woman killed in Catania following an abortion. Already, 1,300 women have signed up to the event.

 Vittoria Tola, from the ‘Unione Donne in Italia’ (Women’s Union in Italy), said, “We no longer want institutions to raise awareness against violence, but we want them to progress with appropriate policies. We have proposals.”

 Pope Francis has also had something to say on the topic over Twitter: “How many women overpowered by the weight of their lives and the ordeal of violence! God wants to liberate them and restore their full dignity.”

 The topic of women is particularly relevant this weekend as the pontiff launched Friday a Commission of Study for the diaconate of women, instituted by the pope in August “to make an objective study on the situation in the early days of the Church.”

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