On 22 January, 3,200 people—mostly male—welcomed the Zonta Club of Alessandria, Italy, in to the local football stadium, Stadio Giuseppe Moccagatta.

Zontians and members of Z Club Alexandria were there before the football game to raise awareness of preventing violence against women.

Zontians displayed a banner on the field to remind everyone that the real men do not beat and do not wound women. “Hands off Women” has been the claim of the local Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign since 2012.

The stadium audience clapped at Zonta’s invitation to respect women and their will, also by wearing an orange colored item of clothing the 25th day of every month.

Finally, everybody honored the memory of 120 women killed by male violence in Italy in 2016 with a moment of silence.

The Zonta Club of Alessandria starts its 2017 advocacy campaign with football, the most popular sport played and loved by many Italian men.

Local press gave great visibility to the Zonta campaign before and after this advocacy action, allowing the club to reach and be seen by more than 50,000 readers.