The article exposed deeply entrenched cultural attitudes towards women and divisions over how to tackle the problem of gender-based violence.
It began by citing two recent alleged gang rapes in Caivano and Palermo, highlighting how Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the country’s first woman prime minister, chose to frame the former as a problem of law and order in a deprived and crime-ridden Naples backwater.
It also stressed the amplifying role of social media in the Palermo incident, which became a vehicle for messages of support to the victim but also for insults and victim blaming.
The newspaper noted recent comments by Meloni’s partner, television anchorman Andrea Giambruno, who controversially said if women avoided getting drunk, they might avoid “getting found by the wolf”.
It said such attitudes permeate even the courts in Italy, “where sexuality and sexual violence are still not always differentiated”.
The article concluded by saying that such treatment often discourages women from coming forward, citing Ilaria Boiano, a lawyer for Differenza Donna, which runs the national emergency number for women who are victims of violence.
“The latest cases are just the tip of the iceberg, unfortunately,” she is quoted as saying.
“Many women don’t even report it.”
ANSA
