Timely responses to domestic violence to overcome the indifference of public policies

In this paper, we argue that domestic violence is not only a problem for women and children that suffer it, but is a social problem. In this definition we also include the silence and disinterest on how to prevent violence against women and children; in fact, the slow response to domestic violence and the indifference of public policies may be described as “structural violence”. Consequently, we can understand how not only violence, but above all the absence of readily available responses to it, is the primary problem to address. To activate positive actions against this type of structural violence, it’s necessary to inquire into public institutions and understand what is the state of the art of the responses and the instruments of social policies.