Led by Jane Fonda (above), a long-time advocate and supporter of the Pomellato for Women initiative, the new video encourages each everyone to be ‘social sentinels’ in safeguarding women from violence and abuse. The urgency of the message is underlined by the alarming statistic that 1 in 3 women worldwide affected by gender violence, inequality and prejudice.
This is the seventh year that Pomellato for Women has chosen International Women’s Day to release a video to raise awareness and spread the word about how much still needs to be done to keep women safe. Sabina Belli, (above) CEO of Pomellato, has driven the project since 2015 and is passionate about her commitment to making the world a better place for women.
Ms Belli was inspired to make the idea of ‘social sentinels’ the core of this year’s message after hearing Fabio Roia (below), an Italian magistrate and President of the Court of Milan say that everyone should be a social sentinel by speaking out against any deprecating or demeaning behaviour towards women.
The message for 2024 is focused on research sponsored by Pomellato for Women into the cause of male violence towards women. Ms Belli elaborates: “Why this violence occurs is a complex topic, so we have consulted many different experts: neuroscientists, philosophers, anthropologists, sociologists, and psychiatrists to understand how this problem has developed and become cemented into our global culture. One possible answer is that patriarchal domination has been embedded into our society for so many millions of years that it goes right back to the roots of our humanity. We may not be able to solve or change the situation overnight, so we are focussing on what can be done now to protect women and make them feel safe.”
Tireless in her optimism and dedication to the cause, Ms Belli outlines a three-point action plan. The first step is to raise awareness of the issue. The second is to make more laws to protect women, not leaving men to assume their actions will go unpunished. The final action is to start teaching young boys that violence is not an option and reach out to girls with the message that education and financial independence can liberate them from being trapped in abusive relationships.
Again, this year’s video includes Pomellato Ambassador Jane Fonda and she is joined by Lucy Hale, the American actress and mental health advocate; Jesse Williams, the American actor and humanitarian; Lucia Annibali, a victim of an acid attack and lawyer and a campaigner for marginalised women. The lineup continues with French author, director, actress and victim of childhood assault Andréa Bescon; Indian advocate for the disenfranchised Kulsum Shadab Wahab (above); Amina Seck, a Senegalese- Italian model and former domestic violence victim; Gregorio Paltrinieri, the Italian award-winning freestyle swimmer and Fabio Roia, President of the Court of Milan known for his commitment to women’s rights.
Closer to home, Ms Belli has nurtured a culture of equality in Pomellato. “70% of our ‘man’ power is women, and in my executive committee, we have an equal number of men and women. I constantly convey to the team that this is a safe place, and we support whoever needs help, in whatever form, be it psychological, legal or material. We have saved lives; some women we have helped may not have survived in other companies."
