Violence against women "unacceptable wound for society": Italian president

Violence against women is "unacceptable" and represents a wound for the entire society, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said on Friday.

His remarks came as Italy commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women, marked every year on Nov. 25.

"Violence against women is a plague still open in Italy, and in the world," Mattarella said in a statement.

The Italian president particularly stressed the seriousness of the gender violence occurring within the domestic and family environment, which constitutes the majority of abuses against women in Italy. "We cannot give up, because it is a matter of human dignity," he said.

Some 116 cases of "femicide" were registered in Italy this year up to Oct. 30, according to latest data released by Economic and Social Research Institute EURES on Friday.

That means almost one woman killed every two days, EURES noted in its report "Traits, dynamics, and risk profiles of femicides in Italy: trends in 2016."

So far this year, the total showed a 3.3 percent decrease compared to the 120 victims registered in the same period of 2015. The majority of femicides in Italy is perpetrated by a man, namely 92.5 percent of them, EURES data showed.

"We need to strengthen our efforts in education in order to teach respect and freedom for every single person," the president said on Friday. "Violence against women is unacceptable, it is a wound for the entire society and it must be tackled first and foremost by the whole community."

Overall, the event was commemorated with over 2,000 events in about 700 Italian cities on Friday, including many educational initiatives in schools, according to the national association of Italian municipalities. A major rally was scheduled in Rome on Saturday. Endit