ROME – Tens of thousands took to the streets in Italy’s main cities on Saturday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, just as an Italian man suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend was extradited from Germany.
The murder of 22-year-old university student Giulia Cecchettin, allegedly at the hands of her former boyfriend, sparked outrage across Italy, where on average a woman is killed every three days.
The 21-year-old suspect Filippo Turetta landed at Venice airport around mid-morning on Saturday. Italian media reported that he was immediately transferred to a prison in the northern city of Verona to face questions as part of the investigation into Cecchettin’s death.
Cecchettin disappeared after meeting Turetta for a burger at a shopping center near Venice just days before she graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering. The case concerned Italy.
Her body was found on November 18 – covered in black plastic bags in a ditch near a lake at the foot of the Alps. Turetta was arrested in Germany the following day.
Cecchettin’s killing has sparked an unprecedented wave of grief and anger in Italy, where many women say patriarchal attitudes are still deeply rooted.
Data from the Italian Interior Ministry shows that 106 women have been killed in Italy so far this year, 55 of them allegedly by a partner or former partner.
Italian state television RAI reported that in the days since Cecchettin’s body was found, calls to a nationwide hotline for women who fear for their safety at the hands of men have increased from about 200 to 400 a day – including from parents of young women.
“Rome has been invaded… there are 500,000 of us,” said activists from Non Una Di Meno (Not One Less), the feminist anti-violence group that organized the rally in the capital.
Many of the demonstrations that took place across Italy commemorated Cecchettin and its impressive history.
“Male violence has personally touched me and all of us at all ages,” said Aurora Arleo, a 24-year-old student who came to the demonstration from Ladispoli, a town near Rome. “We have also united in Giulia’s name because her story has touched us and I hope it will make a difference.”
Monica Gilardi, 46, noted that her generation was probably “the one that suffered more in silence than others,” despite experiencing years of women’s struggles and emancipation.
“Now that I have reached a different consciousness, I hope to share it with my sisters,” she said.
Thousands of men of all ages also answered the call to join the initiatives against gender-based violence on Saturday.
“I think it was important to be here today,” said Leonardo Sanna, 19, who attended the demonstration in Rome with friends. “It’s not my first time, but I believe that Giulia’s death has partly changed the perception of this problem among young people. And I hope this won’t be short-lived.”
Earlier this week, the Italian Parliament passed new measures to combat violence against women after both chambers voted unanimously in favor.
Among the measures being introduced is a campaign in schools to tackle sexism, machismo and psychological and physical violence against women.
“A human society that wants to be civilized cannot accept and endure this series of attacks on women and murders,” Italian President Sergio Mattarella said on Saturday. “We can’t just respond to this with temporary outrage.”
In his message on the fight against gender-based violence, Pope Francis said it was a plague that must be eradicated from society and called for educational measures.
“Violence against women is a poisonous weed that plagues our society and must be rooted out,” the pope wrote Saturday in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“These roots grow in the soil of prejudice and injustice; They must be addressed with educational measures that focus on people and their dignity,” he added.
Violence against women and girls remains one of the most widespread human rights violations worldwide. According to the latest UN data, over 700 million women worldwide – almost one in three – have been subjected to physical and sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their lives.
Thousands of people also demonstrated in Paris on Saturday to demand more government action to prevent gender-based violence. Demonstrators marched behind a large banner that read, “Women are angry, stop the violence: action and resources, now.”
France has taken steps in recent years to toughen penalties for rape and sexual misconduct. But while President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to combat deadly domestic violence and other violence against women, activists say France still has a long way to go.
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Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet contributed to this report from Paris.