by InTrieste
Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25, the University of Trieste is organizing a week of events intended to draw attention to gender-based violence and engage both the academic community and the wider public.
The program, coordinated by the university’s Committee for Equal Opportunities (CUG), comes amid new data from Italy’s Interior Ministry indicating a rise in femicides. In the first half of 2025, homicides committed by a partner or former partner increased to 40, up from 33 during the same period last year. Female victims rose from 28 to 34, an increase of 21 percent. According to the data, women account for 67 percent of all victims of homicides committed in family or intimate-partner settings, and 85 percent of those killings were committed by a partner or former partner.
“The Focus Week is designed above all for young people, including university students,” said Maria Dolores Ferrara, president of the university’s equal-opportunities committee. Faculty members across departments will lead seminars examining gender-based violence, stereotypes and structural inequalities.
Among this year’s initiatives is Posto Occupato (“Occupied Seat”), a symbolic gesture in which empty seats in university classrooms are marked to honor women who were killed by partners or former partners and who once occupied seats in schools, theaters, or other public spaces.
Beyond campus, the committee is collaborating with local institutions to host a series of public events. These include a discussion titled Ending Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence: Law and Practice, organized by Soroptimist Trieste and scheduled for Nov. 25 at Stazione Rogers. On Dec. 16, former University of Trieste professors Natalina Folla and Patrizia Romito will interview Paola Di Nicola Travaglini, a judge at Italy’s Court of Cassation, in an event titled Gender Violence Between Law and Reality. Later that day, the university choir and student council will hold a commemorative concert, Notes of Light: Women’s Memories, in honor of victims of femicide.
A listening and support point run by the anti-violence center GOAP will be available on campus on Nov. 27, offering information and assistance.
From Nov. 24 to 28, the atrium of Building A will host the exhibition What Were You Wearing? Toward a Positive Manifesto, promoted by the Trieste Women’s Council. The exhibition pairs clothing worn by survivors with excerpts from courtroom testimony to challenge narratives that place undue attention on victims’ attire. Visitors are invited to contribute reflections or proposals for collective action in a shared notebook; these materials will form the basis of a manifesto to be presented in March 2026.
To mark the international observance, the façade of Building A will be illuminated in red on Nov. 25, signaling the university’s commitment to raising awareness about violence against women.
Further information about event participation is available by contacting presidenza.comitato.garanzia@units.it.
