SupportHer: what can companies do to combat gender-based violence?

What is the difference between expressing support for a cause and taking active part in change? How can I concretely help a colleague who is experiencing violence? Questions like these open up a universe of doubts and uncertainties. Because when a colleague is affected by violence, goodwill is not enough: we need tools, shared language, and clear protocols. And, above all, we need the awareness that violence is never a private matter. What holds us back is often not a lack of empathy, but a lack of resources. We lack safe spaces, trained people who can recognise and listen, and strategies that give continuity to actions. Too often initiatives remain isolated, symbolic, and end up losing their impact.

A project born out of urgency
It is from this awareness—and from the consolidated experience of Ortu La Barbera and Valsasina, psychologists and DE&I consultants committed to gender equality—that SupportHer | People and Companies Against Gender-Based Violence was created. A project built on a simple yet powerful principle: do not remain indifferent. Move beyond symbolic awareness days and build a long-term, concrete commitment. Because, for many women, the workplace may be the only safe space they have.

SupportHer aims to create tools, alliances, and awareness in the environments we inhabit every day. Its goal is to help organisations become places ready to welcome and support those experiencing abuse. The project brings together psychology, organisational development, and collaboration with experts and anti-violence centres, building a multidisciplinary approach that goes beyond raising awareness: it aims for cultural change. Not just countering violence, but preventing it. Not just training individuals, but building communities.

A three-step journey
SupportHer’s pathway unfolds in three key moments. First comes the awareness webinar. An open session for the entire company population to build understanding, recognise the signs of gender-based violence—whether in one’s own life or in that of someone close—and explore its social and cultural roots. It is the first step toward a culture that does not look away.

Then comes the training of SupportHer representatives, who follow a practical and participatory programme designed for a selected group. This is how the SupportHer figures are created: recognisable, trustworthy people capable of listening, guiding, and offering a concrete point of reference. These figures not only provide support, but activate processes of change within the organisation, promoting ideas and initiatives to combat violence against women. In this way, a living, committed internal community is formed—ready to generate impact.

Finally, follow-up and continuity. The programme concludes with a moment of reflection and consolidation: results are assessed, new objectives are defined, and the network built along the way is strengthened. This becomes the starting point for continuity, transforming the project into an ongoing process rather than a one-off event.

In 2024, significant milestones have already been reached. Companies such as Reckitt and Nokia have completed the pathway in its corporate format, creating dedicated teams. Others, such as Aboca, ENAV and Banca Veneto Centrale, have chosen the inter-company format, which encourages exchange between organisations and enriches best practices. All companies have been supported in building an action plan working across three levels: awareness, prevention, and protection. In just one edition, across the two formats, nearly 50 people have been trained—a tangible sign of the programme’s impact and value.

The SupportHer Community is born
From this experience, the SupportHer Community was created: an active network that brings together those who have participated in the programme. It is a space for exchange, continuous learning, and mutual support. Being part of the Community means benefiting from a consistent schedule of updates and dialogue: a dedicated newsletter, regular in-depth and supervision sessions, advocacy activities, and thematic events that keep the commitment alive. The Community is not just a group of trained individuals: it is a network of care and shared responsibility, where continuity becomes the key to real change.

An invitation to change
SupportHer is aimed at all organisations that want to act with responsibility and vision—those looking for a solid, meaningful project capable of generating real impact on people, corporate culture, and society. Because change does not only mean reacting to violence, but anticipating it, recognising it, and defusing it. And because behind every policy, every training programme, every awareness action lies a message more powerful than any slogan: we are here.