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ROME – The murder of a 22-year-old student in Italy, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, has sparked a nationwide outcry.
Now even the country’s strongest political rivals – far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and left-wing opposition party leader Elly Schlein – have put aside their differences to push for change.
This weekend, thousands of people are expected to gather in Rome and other major cities in what organizers are calling a “revolution” in Italy’s attitudes to masculinity and violence against women and girls. A woman is murdered in Italy about every three days.
The nationwide examination of conscience followed the murder of Giulia Cecchettin, an engineering student at the University of Padua, and the arrest of her former boyfriend Filippo Turetta. Tens of thousands took to the streets this week to protest Italy’s “patriarchal” culture and demand the government improve women’s safety.
Schlein extended an olive branch to Meloni on the issue, calling her on Tuesday and offering to put aside their differences to work together on domestic violence prevention. As a result, a vote on legislation strengthening tools such as injunctions was unanimously approved on Wednesday – an extraordinary result in a normally fractious political arena.
Cecchettin’s body was found near a lake on November 18 with multiple stab wounds after a search was widely reported in the media. Meloni wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “We have all been hoping for the last few days that Giulia was alive. Unfortunately, our greatest fears have been realized… Every single woman killed because she is “guilty” of being free is an aberration that cannot be tolerated and that urges me to continue on the path to ending this barbarism. “
Male jealousy
After the murder, Cecchettin’s family blamed a patriarchal society that clearly gives free rein to “unhealthy” male jealousy and the state’s apathy. According to government figures, more than 100 women have been killed in Italy this year, half of them by their partner or former partner.
Activists blame a culture in which intense jealousy is seen as normal. Until 1981, the country’s penal code required extreme leniency for the killing of “spouses, daughters and sisters caught engaging in illicit sex,” and media personalities still frequently speak of “crimes of passion.”
Cecchettin’s sister Elena told local media that the state was responsible because it was “not doing enough to intervene.” She said: “There is not enough funding for training or sex education in schools.” She is complicit because she does not clearly condemn these episodes. It doesn’t make women safe.”
As the first two women in their respective roles, Schlein and Meloni are well positioned to drive critical change.
Schlein, who is in a relationship with a woman, made feminism one of the pillars of her successful campaign for the leadership of the Democratic Party. She is committed to improving access to abortion and combating discrimination against LGBTQ+ and immigrant women.
As Italy’s first female prime minister, Meloni has shown through her career that women can reach the top in Italy. But it divides feminists. She has rejected arguments for quotas for women in boardrooms or in politics, saying that women must prove themselves on an equal footing in order to gain respect.
Demonstrations are expected in Rome and other Italian cities on Saturday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women | Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images
She was criticized for introducing a law criminalizing surrogacy and her party’s family planning policies. Meloni doesn’t claim to be a feminist, but emphasizes that she grew up in a family of strong women.
Some activists welcomed her views on surrogacy and her opposition to the idea that people should be allowed to identify with a gender other than that assigned to them at birth.
Meloni was also praised when she publicly ended her relationship with her partner of 10 years after he was recorded making lewd comments to female colleagues.
While Meloni and Schlein are usually at odds, Cecchettin’s murder prompted Schlein to call for bipartisan efforts “to eradicate the toxic patriarchal culture of ownership and control over women’s bodies and lives.”
Meloni pledged to strengthen protections for women, improve education and raise public awareness of the problem. Ministers also held a press conference on Wednesday to unveil new initiatives, including relationship education in schools.
Machismo and violence
“The intention is to address the problem of male chauvinism, machismo and psychological and physical violence against women,” said Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara.
Equal Opportunities Minister Eugenia Roccella said change must come from men. “Violence is the symptom of the inability to accept women’s freedom.”
Demonstrations are expected in Rome and other Italian cities on Saturday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Elisa Ercoli, president of Differencea Donna, a feminist group helping to organize the protests, told POLITICO that Cecchettin’s death struck a nerve because “Giulia came from a small village but was about to graduate as an engineer and with almost certainly would have left her home.” .”
“This was clearly unbearable, an insult to the man in the relationship, and during the long search we all knew what the result would be… The younger generation of women of course expects absolute freedom, and not all men in Italy have caught up.” ”
The response to this killing could make a difference, she said. Awareness of the horrors of domestic violence is growing in Italy, which she attributes to feminist groups working together to correct “every single incident” in which possessiveness or abuse is excused or minimized. “Something has changed,” Ercoli said. Italy is on the threshold of “a cultural revolution that we must complete.”