INTESA SANPAOLO AND THE ASILO MARIUCCIA FOUNDATION FOR NEW SHELTERS FOR WOMEN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE

• Started fund-raising at www.forfunding.it target €150,000
• The IMI CIB Division of Intesa Sanpaolo will directly support the project with its own donation
  

Milan, 4 October 2024 - Intesa Sanpaolo and the Asilo Mariuccia Foundation have launched a fund-raising campaign through “For Funding”, the Bank's crowdfunding platform, for the "Casa Ersilia" project, which envisages the construction of two secret refuge houses in the Lombardy region for women victims of abuse and violence.

Shelter homes are facilities that offer free-of-charge accommodation for single women, or women with their children, who have approached an anti-violence centre because they are suffering gender-based violence. Through cooperation with the anti-violence network, specialised workers assess the danger of returning to the usual home and agree with the women on placement in a protected and therefore secret place.

The project plans to raise €150,000 to finance the structural work needed to renovate two totally independent flats, owned by the Foundation, designed for the sheltered accommodation and safety of women and children who are victims of serious violence. The funds raised will also support a year's work of the psychotherapist specialising in the care of victims of violence and the purchase of a vehicle for the safe transport of women and their children.

Intesa Sanpaolo's IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division, headed by Mauro Micillo, will support the initiative by doubling each donation received from the platform until it reaches a total of €50,000.

The “For Funding” platform allows individuals and legal entities to donate and lend money to Third Sector entities directly, without the use of intermediaries and without commission charged to either the donor or the beneficiary. Furthermore, through its own organisation and infrastructure, Intesa Sanpaolo guarantees security and transparency, with public reporting on both the progress of the collection and the subsequent use of the money raised.

Gender-based violence is an ever-growing phenomenon in all family and work environments and affects all social, cultural and economic groups indiscriminately. In 2023, there were 120 cases of femicide in Italy, of which more than 50% were committed by the partner or former partner. ISTAT data shows that, in Italy,31.5% of women (1 in 3) have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. The most serious forms of violence tend to take place within the family environment. The cases registered in Lombardy in recent years show constant increases: in 2021, 4,541 contacts with anti-violence centres and 2,144 women were taken into care.

The 'Casa Ersilia' fund-raiser will welcome and protect up to 10 women per year, to support up to 20 children per year in their school, sports and recreational activities, and to implement the protection service that the anti-violence network provides to women who are victims of serious forms of abuse, thus counteracting the risk of aggression and femicide, through concrete, free and safe support.

Since it first began, back in 1902, the Asilo Mariuccia Foundation has aimed to promote the autonomy, growth and psychophysical well-being of mothers and their children who have suffered forms of violence and of unaccompanied minors often forced to flee their country of origin, who are facing a difficult period in their lives, in its host communities.

The initiative confirms Intesa Sanpaolo's role as an institution that wants to make a real social contribution to the community in terms of inclusion, enhancing the environment and culture, and promoting education and innovation. With the 2022-2025 Business Plan, the Group, led by CEO Carlo Messina, thanks to the establishment of the dedicated Intesa Sanpaolo per il Sociale (Intesa Sanpaolo for Social Affairs) structure, reinforces its objective of being a reference point in social sustainability, promoting the themes of inclusion and cohesion as part of its overall strategy.

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Media Relations

Intesa Sanpaolo

Corporate & Investment Banking and Governance Areas

stampa@intesasanpaolo.com