About us
The Municipality of Milan’s Anti-Violence Network supports women experiencing gender-based violence throughout the city. The Network is coordinated by the Municipality of Milan and is based at Casa dei Diritti (House of Rights).
The Network brings together
These organisations share principles, values and expertise in tackling men’s violence against women. The Network recognizes and promotes their central role in driving change. It also involves organisations and institutions that have signed an inter-agency protocol.
CADMI Casa di Accoglienza delle Donne Maltrattate di Milano
CADMI is the first anti-violence center established in Italy. For 40 years, it has supported women as they work toward a life free from violence. Since 1986, CADMI has supported more than 38,000 women. Since opening the first confidential shelter in 1991, it has provided accommodation through more than 800 support placements for women at risk. For many years, CADMI has also delivered training courses and awareness-raising sessions in schools, businesses, public institutions and other community settings. Its aim is to raise awareness, strengthen prevention and bring about the cultural and social change needed to end men’s violence against women. Since 1986, they have stood alongside women who want to live free from violence.
Cerchi D'Acqua s.c.a.r.l Onlus
Cerchi d’Acqua is an anti-violence center founded in Milan in 2000 to combat men’s violence and address its effects on the physical and mental well-being of women and those who witness it. It is a founding member of D.i.Re (Women’s Network Against Violence), the national association of anti-violence centers, and is one of the centers supporting Italy’s national anti-violence helpline, 1522. It provides women with confidentiality, anonymity and a nonjudgmental environment. As part of the City of Milan’s Anti-Violence Network, it offers long-term individual psychotherapy and mutual support groups to help women process their experiences of violence.
Cooperativa Lotta Contro L'Emarginazione
We welcome women who have experienced violence, both those on their own and those with their children, into our shelters. We support them as they move toward a life free from violence and develop plans for independent living. We run seven first- and second-stage shelters. We make our houses warm and welcoming, creating spaces where women can feel safe and begin to rebuild their lives. We also provide training and information sessions in nursery, primary and secondary schools for teachers, parents and classes, addressing the cultural influences associated with gender stereotypes. Our work takes place both ‘inside’—in the homes—and ‘outside’—in the wider community. Our cultural work is visible; our practical support often takes place behind the scenes, in confidential-address residences. Together, these strands reflect the complexity of our commitment to and work alongside women.
Casa Edera - Cooperativa LULE ONLUS
In 2017, Cooperativa Lule began expanding its work to address gender-based violence and abuse. Following its registration as a shelter provider and its inclusion in anti-violence networks across Lombardy, Casa Rifugio Edera was established for women who have experienced men’s violence and their children. It is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Casa Edera offers a safe place where women can receive help and protection. Working in coordination with an anti-violence center, it develops an individual support plan for each woman and her children, based on an assessment of risk and individual needs.
Farsi Prossimo Onlus e Caritas Ambrosiana - SeD Servizio Donne
For 30 years, we have welcomed and supported women through personalized plans to help them leave situations of violence, involving external services where needed to meet their needs. We also work with specialist cultural and linguistic mediators to support women from other countries.
Fondazione Somaschi Onlus
Segnavia Anti-Violence center supports women experiencing violence by offering a listening service, psychological support, legal guidance and help toward greater independence. It also advises and supports people close to women experiencing violence and promotes cultural change in a range of settings, including associations, businesses and schools.
Fondazione Somaschi’s Antigone shelters aim to:
- Provide emergency accommodation and a safe, protected place for women and any children escaping violence.
- Support women in the choices they make and help them and their families plan for an independent future, drawing on their own abilities and resources.
- Help them take steps toward full legal, financial, employment and housing independence.
La Grande Casa s.c.a.r.l Onlus
For more than 30 years, La Grande Casa has welcomed women, both on their own and with their children, as they leave situations of gender-based violence, supporting them in rebuilding an independent life free from violence. It currently runs two first- and second-stage shelters, staffed by a dedicated and experienced team with extensive training in empowering women and supporting children who have witnessed violence. The two shelters work closely with their local communities to help residents feel included, while ensuring that the safety of women and children remains a priority.
La Strada Società Cooperativa Sociale
La Strada runs two second-stage shelters at confidential addresses, supporting women who are on their own or mothers with a young child as they work toward independent living.
Mai Da Sole - CeAS Oltre il Pregiudizio Soc. Coop. Onlus
As part of its longstanding work with women who have experienced violence, abuse or trafficking, the social cooperative CeAS Oltre il Pregiudizio runs the Mai Da Sole anti-violence center at its premises in Milan’s Parco Lambro. The center is a space run by women for women, offering support as they work toward leaving violence behind, with their needs at the heart of its work. Violence affects women across all backgrounds and is rooted in deep-seated historical and cultural inequalities between women and men. Addressing it requires a support network that helps women rebuild their self-confidence and self-esteem.
SVS Donna Aiuta Donna s.c.s.
SVS Donna Aiuta Donna is an anti-violence center that has been working in Milan since 1997. From the outset, its distinctive approach has involved working with a group of lawyers specializing in civil and criminal law relating to gender-based violence. Today, SVS Donna Aiuta Donna also runs two confidential-address apartments outside Milan and leads the Ri-Nascita project, which supports women with children in achieving independence. In addition to supporting women and children as they move on from violence, the center delivers information and awareness-raising initiatives to help prevent violence.
SVSeD - Soccorso Violenza Sessuale e Domestica
SVSeD is a public anti-violence service for all survivors of gender-based violence, regardless of sex or age. Established in 1996, it has been recognized by the Lombardy Regional Government as a regional support center for issues involving violence against women and children. Based at Milan’s Policlinico hospital, SVSeD provides information, a welcoming point of contact, medical, gynecological and medico-legal care, and psychological and social support to help survivors process trauma and find a way out of violence. The service operates 24 hours a day, every day, offering immediate medical care and round-the-clock telephone access to psychosocial support. All women are also offered free legal advice by lawyers from the SVS DAD ONLUS anti-violence center, under a formal agreement with SVSeD.
Telefono Donna Italia
Telefono Donna Italia is a voluntary organisation founded on March 8, 1992 by Stefania Bartoccetti. It is registered with Italy’s National Single Register of the Third Sector (RUNTS), general register no. 38046, following its transfer to the register on October 7, 2022. Its main and registered office is located within ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Piazza Ospedale Maggiore 3, Milan. Through attentive listening, it supports women in difficult situations, particularly those experiencing abuse, physical and/or psychological violence, or stalking. Women who wish to do so can access free psychological and/or legal support. The listening service is available 24 hours a day.
C.A.S.D. Centro di Ascolto Soccorso Donna
The C.A.S.D. Women’s Listening and Support center is based at San Carlo Hospital, Via Pio II 3, Milan. The center is open Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and offers women who have experienced violence a welcoming service, psychological support and legal assistance. Through the hospital’s emergency department, it provides medical care 24 hours a day and can arrange protective hospital accommodation for women and their minor children until they can be transferred to a safe facility. The center works closely with the Anti-Violence Network to ensure protection and continuity of care.
Asilo Mariuccia
Fondazione Asilo Mariuccia ETS manages both the Ersilia Bronzini Anti-Violence Centre and women’s shelters. Its work is designed to support women experiencing situations of vulnerability, as well as those who have already begun their journey towards freedom from violence.
Equa
EQUA Cooperativa sociale manages shelters for women experiencing violence, with or without dependent children, as well as confidential mother-and-child transitional housing for women with children who are in situation of violence and are working towards independent living.