Non Una di Meno demonstration to be held in Rome on 26 November.

Numerous initiatives are being held in Rome to mark the UN-backed International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November.

The Casa Internazionale delle Donne in the Trastevere district is holding numerous events, while on Saturday 26 November thousands are expected at nationwide demonstrations to oppose violence against women.

The Non Una di Meno (Not One Less) rally, scheduled for Piazza della Repubblica in Rome at 14.00, is designed to recall the victims of feminicide and male aggression as well as demanding greater rights for women.

The demonstration comes as Italian state broadcaster RAI faces a backlash over a controversial video campaign whose critics claim it portrays violence against women as an inescapable fate.

The clip features children talking about what they want to be when they grow up, from musicians and stylists to police officers and personal trainers. The video ends abruptly with a little girl saying: "When I grow up I will end up in hospital, because my husband beats me.”

116 women have been murdered by men in Italy so far this year, compared to 128 deaths during the whole of 2015. Over the last decade 1,740 women were killed in Italy: 1,251 were killed within a family context – of these 846 were killed by their partner – and 224 died at the hands of an ex-partner.

One in three women in the EU has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15, and one in ten women has experienced sexual harassment or stalking through new technologies.

Women suffering from gender-based violence in Italy can seek support from the volunteers at the multi-lingual women’s helpline Telefona Rosa, tel. 0637518282, while those wishing to show their support can wear a white ribbon in solidarity.

Each pair of red shoes in the photo symbolises a murdered woman.