On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the shipping company Caronte & Tourist announced that it has activated a self-defense course dedicated to its female employees: “an initiative that is part of a broader path, made of concrete actions aimed at the prevention, recognition, and reporting of violence and, obviously, at supporting victims”.
Caronte & Tourist has chosen to intervene on multiple levels: on one hand, by continuing to support “downstream” tools such as anti-violence centers and family homes; on the other, by investing with even greater conviction “upstream”, in the prevention of psychological and physical violence. “This is a process of collective change – the company states – where the goal is to promote, starting from the workplace, a non-violent culture, where acts of violence are condemned and extinguished not only by the victim but by the system itself.”
“Intervening only at the end of the process, when the victim is already such, is fundamental but not sufficient to extinguish the phenomenon,” declared Tiziano Minuti, HR Manager and Head of Communications for the C&T Group: “We want to be an active part of a change together with our male and female employees. The women within our company – today growing in numbers and roles – are colleagues, daughters, mothers, wives, sisters. It is important that they never feel alone and that they know how to recognize danger before it is too late.”
In 2022, the establishment of the role of the confidential advisor, a professional figure capable of intervening on gender issues both inside and outside the work environment, was one of the first steps in this direction. Over time, other initiatives have been added to this tool, including today the self-defense course, conceived as a path of personal and collective empowerment, to strengthen awareness, self-confidence, and a sense of community.
“The self-defense course, launched on an experimental basis last October thanks to the collaboration with the teachers of Don’t Touch Me, Francesca Lucia and Giovanni Zumbo, aims – the instructors themselves explain – to increase self-confidence and body awareness. We do not want to instruct heroines, but to develop clarity in analyzing situations, recognize danger signals, and act even before the aggressor is too close.”
During the lessons, various risk situations are analyzed, practical advice for daily life is provided, and intuitive techniques for striking an aggressor’s vulnerable points are practiced. Great importance is dedicated to the recognition of personal boundaries and body language: the gaze, the instinctive reflex, and peripheral vision are trained to develop a defensive mindset to carry in daily life along with the ability to assert oneself with voice and body to affirm one’s personal safety space that no one can violate.
Among the “upstream” tools activated by the company are also the mandatory training courses on inclusive language and non-violent communication, the latter currently underway and aimed at all employees and management. “This is an intensive training that, through an experiential workshop and theatrical performance techniques, guides participants to explore their own emotions, recognize communication errors, and initiate an authentic process of change, promoting relationships based on respect, listening, and inclusion,” explains Piera Calderone, Diversity & Disability Manager of the Group.
