Lungomare (Bolzano/Bozen, Italy) designs, curates and produces transdisciplinary cultural projects and collaborations at the intersections of public, virtual, printed, urban and exhibition space. Lungomare works in supra-disciplinary constellations. It is a discursive platform for experimenting with and producing alternative forms of artistic, cultural and activist praxis. It negotiates socio-political issues. It is a place for convivial encounters on the outskirts of Bolzano-Bozen.

Kunst Meran Merano Arte is a non-profit art association based in a historic building. It is a space and platform in the field of contemporary art and regional art history, as well as architecture. It organises exhibitions with an interdisciplinary, research-based, and context-rich approach. The venue does not see itself exclusively as a place of display, but of promoting the development and production, as well as the discourse of art through exhibitions, conferences, artist residencies and workshops, as well as various other initiatives. In addition to the visual arts and architecture, current research concerns the fields of literature, music, photography, and new media.

The Summer School South Tyrol is a triad of literary-dramatic workshops, a public forum, and readings and performances.
It was founded in 2015 by the writer and playwright Maxi Obexer. Its aim is to share important contemporary issues with the public, bringing artistic-literary thinking into experience, with insights from other fields such as science, history, actionism and more. The Summer School focuses on writing, thinking and research.

Since 1998, the Bressanone Women’s Shelter Service (Frauenhausdienst Brixen), under the direction of the Valle Isarco District Council, has offered free counselling to women and girls suffering violent abuse. In 2005, the women’s shelter was opened for the protection and safety of the affected women and their children. The aim is to enable women and their children to live free from gender-based violence. The service can be reached 24/7 on the Freephone number 800 601 330. Prevention and awareness-raising work, as well as networking, are important pillars of the women’s shelter service.

The Gender Equality Councillor (Gleichstellungsrätin Südtirol), as the ombudsperson for gender discrimination in the workplace, provides information and counselling to approximately 600 employees each year who have experienced discrimination and violence. In 70 per cent of the cases, it is women who contact the Equality Councillor. They report forms of violence ranging from verbal and non-verbal assaults to bullying, sexual assaults and stalking. Frequently, it is also about forms of structural violence of which those affected are often not aware. Many women do not want to report the violence they have experienced because they are afraid of negative consequences or reprisals from their employer. It is important to give them help.

GEA (GEA- Frauenhaus Bozen) – for solidarity among women against gender-based violence. GEA supports women as well as their children who experience violence and abuse within and/or outside the family environment. It also seeks to raise public awareness of any kind of gender-specific violence. GEA runs a Contact Point Against Violence and a Women’s Shelter in Bolzano on behalf of the BSB (Bolzano Social Service). For women suffering violent abuse, a free emergency line is active 24h/7 (Freephone number 800 – 276433). The services of GEA are free of charge and anonymous.

The Municipality of Bolzano’s Women’s Office (Frauenamt der Gemeinde Bozen) works towards asserting the civil rights, self-determination, and empowerment of all women: The right to have a place at work, in society, in culture and in politics. The right to decide freely for oneself and about one’s own life by overcoming the stereotypes and socio-cultural conditioning that often confine women to traditional roles. The Women’s Office works closely with the voluntary sector. Inputs are received or development activities proposed and financial support provided, because networking and shared objectives and actions are considered fundamental principles. Specific areas of action are the promotion of women’s culture, appreciation of the role and competences of women in the arts and professional sectors, as well as the opposition to violence against women and the WE_women empowerment network project.

In 1989, women dedicated to becoming active against male violence towards women joined forces. The association Women against Violence (Frauen gegen Gewalt Meran) was founded out of this solidarity. Since then, the women in the association have been working towards a cultural shift through training, prevention work, and awareness raising campaigns. The affected women and their children are guaranteed 24-hour support. Since 1993, the association has run a counselling centre to combat violence against women in Merano, on the request of Burgraviato district council, and since 1997, the women’s shelter. In addition, there is a 24-hour emergency telephone number. Our basic premise is that violence against women is a social problem based on the inequality of power between men and women.

Violence against women should never be forced back into the private sphere. The problem is complex, the issues should be scrutinised by all, the causes of violence researched, and the results used as a foundation for applying measures to combat the violence. Politics and society need to deal with gender-specific violence. Role models should be examined more closely to ensure that the next generation can be brought up with non-violent role models. There is the need for a social consciousness that does not accept the subjugation of women to male domination.
There are still many countries where women are victims of human trafficking, genital mutilation and forced marriages.

In the Women’s Museum (Frauenmuseum Meran), this theme is conveyed by looking into history to see where and why violence against women was and still is an issue. Thanks to the women’s movement, this heavily tabooed topic has been made public.