In Milan, urban space becomes a means of speaking to the entire community. This is the meaning of the new campaign promoted by ATM, the Municipality of Milan and the Anti-Violence Network, created by the YAM112003 agency on the occasion of the International Day against Violence against Women. The initiative transforms classic metro stops into direct and symbolic messages, using the names of the stations to give shape to phrases that invite collective responsibility.
The strength of the campaign lies in its immediacy: a simple gesture, but capable of attracting the attention of millions of passengers. The messages – including “Fight against violence against women”, “Choose what kind of man to be” and “Isolate those who commit violence, not those who suffer it” playing respectively on the names of the stations “Lotto”, “Duomo” and “Isola” – are placed in high traffic points, transforming public transport into a place of awareness. The objective is twofold: to support women who experience abusive situations and to involve men, underlining that gender violence is first and foremost a male problem.
However, communication, however effective, cannot replace concrete action. It is precisely here that the gap emerges between what the campaigns say and what many people perceive in everyday life. The widespread feeling of lack of security is not a failure of creativity, but a sign of the distance between social narrative and real conditions. The campaign therefore invites us to take a further step: transforming awareness into a stable commitment, capable of impacting public behavior and policies.
Sound announcements and QR codes to recognize forms of violence
Throughout November, the metro stations and shelters will host the visual messages of the campaign, which will culminate on November 25th with audio announcements dedicated to the diffusion of 1522, the national anti-violence number active 24 hours a day. A QR code present on the materials refers to an information page that explains how to recognize the different forms of violence – psychological, physical, sexual, economic, digital – and provides information on the Milanese Anti-Violence Centres. In 2025, in the first ten months alone, over 2,300 women turned to these structures for the first time, a growing figure that confirms the urgency of widespread and constant interventions.
After all, the fight against violence is a collective responsibility. Bringing this message to the places crossed every day by one and a half million people means reiterating that the city does not want to turn its gaze elsewhere. For ATM, this is a social commitment that has continued for years, also in memory of those who paid for the violence with their lives.
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