DORA (Data integratiOn for Acknowledging Risks And protecting Children from Violence) aims to enhance the process of collecting and integrating statistical sources on violence against and against minors, including female genital mutilation/modification, to contribute to a concrete extension of the sources aimed at the knowledge of the intrinsic characteristics of the phenomenon.

The overall objective of the DORA project is to identify existing information gaps on the topic of violence/against minors and to develop statistical solutions capable of combining, integrating, and thus producing refined and easily usable data.

The project, therefore, aims to achieve the following specific objectives

• to identify and systematize all currently available sources, identifying strengths and weaknesses;
• to contribute to a correct estimation of the extent of the phenomenon in all its multiple dimensions and risk factors
• to define a new framework for measuring violence against children and minors and its consequences;
• to analyze the phenomenon through modeling and data integration;
• to contribute to the improvement of data collection at the national and international level
• to contribute to a more comprehensive view of the phenomenon by advancing data analysis and Statistical collection methodology.

Census and systematization of survey and administrative statistical sources. With this activity, DORA intends to reconstruct the current state of the art concerning the different national sources, which directly or indirectly intersect with the topic of violence against and on minors. The aim is to represent the phenomenon based on the available data, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the surveyed sources and identifying the necessary steps for their improvement.

This activity consists of 4 steps:

1. definition of a valid methodology to systematize the available data, analyzed and classified in terms of meta-data to obtain an adequate database to represent the phenomenon;
2. processing of the collected information through data fusion procedures or statistical modeling to obtain new measures;
3. highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the current data structure to propose a new framework for measurement;
4. implementation – where possible – of new questions in the current ISTAT surveys to fill information gaps, further improving data collection on violence against minors.

The lack of statistical sources is at the root of the difficulties in assessing the risk of undergoing genital mutilation/modification among girls with a migration background. DORA proposes a standard for planning sample surveys to fill this gap by proposing and formalizing new and updated survey methodologies and statistical procedures. Furthermore, the project proposes an estimation procedure among girls in Italy by integrating administrative and sample data and proposing a map of associated risk factors among girls of foreign origin.

• A SYSTEMATIC COLLECTION OF EXISTING DATA ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING (1990-2022)
• Annex Data Collection FGM (1990-2022)

All the activities and objectives mentioned so far are supported by a strategic communication campaign aimed at providing the scientific community and professionals with all the tools and methodologies implemented during the project and raising the awareness of policymakers and stakeholders on the issue of violence against children.