Our Story

The Associazione Nazionale Volontarie del Telefono Rosa Onlus was founded in Rome in February 1988, when three women decided to fight and bring to light the phenomenon of submerged violence, hidden within the domestic walls.

The Association, which was to be a full-term experiment to give women a voice, thanks to the determination of the founders and volunteers, who are currently sixty, has become over time an indispensable instrument of defence and denunciation for women and minors.

The change has been long, thirty-three years of fights, of successes and defeats, of conquered laws and rights. The Telefono Rosa, with strength and professionalism supports women, accompanying them throughout their journey of rebirth, also helping searching a job, considered a necessary tool to regain total autonomy.
Today the Association is present throughout the national territory: Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Lazio, Campania and Sicily. Today the Association is present throughout the national territory: Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Lazio, Campania and Sicily. The National Network of the Telefoni Rosa to help victims follow an organic and homogeneous plan implementing the same guidelines, carried out by the Roman headquarters through its thirty years of experience.
The aim of the Association is to support and protect women victims of violence and their minor children. At the Telefono Rosa switchboard, active 24 hours a day, volunteers respond by offering women: listening, reception, security and protection, free of charge.

The Association provides specialist legal advice, through criminal lawyers, civil lawyers and cassation lawyers; psychological counselling; linguistic-cultural mediation activities; self- mutual aid groups; parenting support; social secretariat and informative guidance / training guidance to services and work. These activities are offered to Italian and foreign women , EU and non-EU.

Over the years, the Telefono Rosa has built a dense network of relationships and collaborations with the police and representatives of the institutions. Telefono Rosa has produced training courses for operators and professionals, but which have also been administered to public and private entities such as the Ferrovie Italiane, the CISL Union, the emergency rooms of the Sant’Andrea Hospital, Fatebenefratelli, Policlinico Casilino, Tor Vergata, the ASL of Alatri, Anagni, Cassino, Sora and Frosinone. Through a project funded by the Poste Italiane Onlus Foundation, Telefono Rosa has created an e-learning platform, the first at European level, dedicated to the theme of gender-based violence (E_LOVE) to standardize and disseminate for free the training standards to combat violence.

The Telefono Rosa has been involved in educating and training young people in respect and gender equality for several years, believing it necessary to start with the new generations to combat gender-based violence, stereotypes, and any form of discrimination. Since 2003, in fact, it has been engaged in prevention, information and awareness-raising activities on the issues of gender-based violence, collaborating with various educational institutions, where Telefono Rosa takes training courses.

Since its foundation in 2013, the Association has analysed and monitored the evolution of the phenomenon of violence, providing for the publication of annual research on submerged violence, called: “The secret voices of violence”, in collaboration with the SWG Institute of Trieste.
Telefono Rosa has also published several texts including books, pamphlets for young people and health workers. Telefono Rosa has produced videos and commercials for targeted in-depth analysis on issues related to gender-based violence.

The Telefono Rosa also helped bringing out the problem of stalking, urging parliamentarians to enact a text to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of such conduct, and created, immediately, a support desk reserved for victims.
Over the years, seven hundred and fifteen thousand women have turned to the Telefono Rosa. Specifically, many were those who went to the office to receive civil and criminal legal advice and psychological support. Active and empathetic listening, as well as information about their rights, have allowed users to begin a path of escape from violence, regaining decision-making capacity for their own lives and that of their children. A path, which in most cases has led them to autonomy. Over the years and the continuous professional updating, the team of lawyers and that of psychologists have achieved a high degree of specialization in relation to the problems and critical issues of the family relationship and have developed a real methodology in dealing with both the legal and psychological aspects related to the phenomenon of violence.

Currently the Telefono Rosa manages: four anti-violence centers, two shelter houses, two semi-autonomy houses.

Activities and Services

Telefono Rosa Italian Headquarters

1990 TELEFONO ROSA – VENETO headquarter’s opened
1993 TELEFONO ROSA – PIEMONTE headquarter’s opened
1997 TELEFONO ROSA – LOMBARDIA headquarter’s opened
2008 TELEFONO ROSA – LAZIO headquarter’s opened
2010 TELEFONO ROSA – CAMPANIA headquarter’s opened
1990 TELEFONO ROSA – VENETO headquarter’s opened

Results acquired over time

Over the years, seven hundred and fifteen thousand women have turned to the Telefono Rosa. Specifically, many were those who went to the office to receive civil and criminal legal advice and psychological support. Active and empathetic listening, as well as information about their rights, have allowed users to begin a path of escape from violence, regaining decision-making capacity for their own lives and that of their children. A path, which in most cases has led them to autonomy. The women who are housed in the houses are followed not only during the stay but even after the exit from the center. This allows the Association to evaluate over time the progress of the individual path of the woman.

We emphasize that only in 2017, three women hosted in the shelters, after attending both Italian and professional courses, managed to find a job and they rented an apartment to live with their children.

Essential to this end are the social secretariat and tutoring activities in the job search: for each user, through listening, personal aptitudes and inclinations, skills and training and education knowledge acquired and to be acquired are evaluated, the identification and explanation of any unexpressed needs that can make women increasingly aware and autonomous in their choices.

In particular, the operators dedicated to job search tutoring, assist users in the preparation of a curriculum vitae, directing and preparing them to know how to present themselves in the most appropriate way for a job interview and directing them towards participation in free vocational and training courses. Women are supported in the search for these courses, also thanks to various protocols of understanding established by the “Telefono Rosa” with Entities whose purpose is to train and professionalize Italian and foreign citizens. Telefono Rosa has stipulated Protocols of Understanding with the “IL FARO” Foundation, with the ACLI and with the ENAIP, with the “SARGASSI” to allow inclusion in professional courses that allow women to access internships and practical apprenticeship in companies.

In the perspective to the network set up in Lazio, collaboration protocols were drawn up with the Bambin Gesù Pediatric Hospital, the Fatebenefratelli Hospital, the Casilino Polyclinic, the Palestrina Hospital and the University of Tor Vergata, Faculty of Gynecology, with the Rome Police Headquarters and with the Roma B. Asl.

Through the years and continuous professional updating, the Team of lawyers and the Team of psychologists have reached a high degree of specialization in relation to the problems and criticalities of the family relationship and have developed a real methodology in dealing with both the legal and psychology of the phenomenon of violence. The Team of Lawyers consists of of 12 members, 6 civil lawyers and 6 criminal lawyers, all enrolled in legal aid; the team of psychologists consists of 10 elements with various specializations including the systemic relational one.

National Association Volontarie Del Telefono Rosa – onlus
PROJECT DATA COLLECTED FROM THE BEGINNING OF MANAGEMENT TO THE PRESENT DATA COLLECTED 2017
Telephone reception service and in the presence of the National Association of Telefono Rosa Volunteers – onlus
NUMBER OF WOMEN HELPED OVER THE PHONE: 715,000 NUMBER OF WOMEN HELPED IN THE CENTER: 4,800
Management of the public utility number 1522. Anti-violence and stalking service dedicated to supporting victims of violence and stalking. Active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
NUMBER OF CALLS RECEIVED: 219,970 NUMBER OF CALLS RECEIVED: 33,466

Management of 2 Shelter Houses
Hospitality for women in need with possible minor children. NUMBER OF WOMEN HOUSED: 192 NUMBER OF WOMEN HOUSED: 25.
‘Women: a thread that unites different worlds and cultures’. 25 November – 8 March. Every year two Events are organized with the students of High Schols of the Lazio Region. 4,200,000 are the young students with whom the Telefono Rosa has spoke since the start of this project. 350,000 are the young students with whom the Telefono Rosa dialogues annually

Since December 2012, the National Association of Telefoo Rosa Volunteers – onlus. Has managed the Anti-violence and Stalking Number “1522”, a public utility number promoted by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers – Department for Equal Opportunities, which offers a multilingual telephone reception service , active 24 hours a day for 365 days a year, aimed at victims of all forms of violence.

This management has allowed the Association to build and continue in the time of the fruitful and continuous relations with the Department of Equal Opportunities – Presidency of the Council of Ministers