Dedem, the passport photo booths become anti-violence points

Listen to the audio version of the article

The passport photo booths become anti-violence points, capable of connecting women with 1522. Thanks to a project by the Differenza Donna Association and Dedem, and with the technical expertise of DMP Electronics, between now and summer, 50 Dedem booths will be located throughout the Italian territory, from North to South, passing through the center and favoring the most “difficult” areas of the cities, they will be equipped with a device that will allow women threatened by any form of violence, physical and psychological, to use the cabins themselves as points of first contact with 1522, theViolence and Stalking Help Linesimply by pressing a button, inserted into a small box created using additive printing, an activity in which Dedem is a leader in Italy.

The company

Dedem, a company from Ariccia (province of Rome), is best known for its passport photo booths found on street corners (around 4,000 in Italy and 2,200 in Spain). The 2023 turnover is 110 million, estimated to grow this year. To date, 513 people work for Dedem and they will be there soon hiring of at least 20 resources.

The number 1522

The number 1522, a public service promoted by the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, is free and active 24 hours a day, through specialized operators welcomes, in Italian, English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Albanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Polish, requests for help and support from victims of violence and stalking. In the last quarter of 2023 alone, there were over 54 thousand calls.

Dedem booth for passport photos with anti-violence pink box

Protection tools

«Dissemination, knowledge and access to 1522 are fundamental protection tools for women who are experiencing a situation of violence – explains the president of Differenza Donna Elisa Ercoli -. Contacting 1522 means having the availability, in total anonymity and confidentiality, to deal with experts who listen and give the woman back the reality she is experiencing like a mirror, freeing her from an underestimation which is often a defensive as well as dangerous mechanism. Thanks to Dedem for spreading this exceptional opportunity in Italy.”

The help of the company

«With this project Dedem wants to make its infrastructure available for a battle that can only belong to the entire company – explains the company’s Human Resources manager Simona Belli -. If we can help even just one woman regain her freedom, our goal will have been achieved. After an initial test on 50 cabins we would like to increasingly extend the network of pink box cabins.”