Femicide: 58 women killed so far in 2016

(ANSA) - Rome, June 9 - At least 58 women in Italy have been killed by a partner or ex-lover so far in 2016, and more than 155 have died this way since January 2015, prompting anti-gender violence campaigners to urge the government to commit more resources to tackling the problem.
    In the past week, a girl in Pordenone in northern Italy was shot dead by her ex-boyfriend before he turned the gun on himself, and on Thursday a 46-year-old teacher in the northern town of Pastrengo was killed by her ex-partner who stabbed her and hit her in the head with a vase as he told police he "lost it for an instant", ANSA sources said.
    These two recent cases are the latest in a series of "femicides" or killing of women that is often linked to gender-based violence and commonly involves spurned former partners. The phenomenon has prompted many Italian women to hang red blankets from their windows in protest.
    Another widely reported case was of the 22-year-old Sara Di Pietrantonio, a Rome university student who was strangled and then set on fire by her ex-boyfriend, Vincenzo Paduano, who was unable to accept that she had a new relationship and had threatened and stalked her for weeks before he killed her.
    The Telefono Rosa association that helps victims of violence also pointed to figures that show 8,856 women have reported facing violence since January 2015, and 1,261 have faced stalking. They said that was just the tip of the iceberg considering that about 90% of women do not report this sort of violence.
    The association said the government needed to do more to fight the issue to avoid more deaths.
    "How many more need to die before the government realises that economic resources, means and efforts to fight gender violence are completely insufficient?" Telefono Rosa President Gabriella Moscatelli said.
    "How many women, girls, mothers, daughters, sisters and friends do we have to see massacred by ex partners that have become monsters and assassins, before decisions are made to put in place active policies that are appropriate for tackling the enormous social problem of violence against women?" she said.