Organizers of the demonstration marking the International Day Against Violence Against Women welcomed “a wave,” citing the figure of 500,000 people in Rome. Although the turnout was certainly smaller, the procession that marched through the streets of the Italian capital on Saturday November 25th was impressive for its density. Others also took place in Milan, Turin, Perugia and Messina (Sicily).
In front of the Circus Maximus, one of the landmarks of ancient Rome, tens of thousands of people followed the call of the Non una di meno (“Not one less”) association. Two hours after the planned meeting, the demonstrators, mostly women of several generations, marched through the streets of the capital shouting “Enough!”. The first aim was to denounce a new femicide that has made headlines in the entire transalpine press in recent days the murder of 22-year-old Giulia Cecchettin, who was killed by her partner near Venice on November 13th.
Giulia Cecchettin is the 106th woman to die as a result of domestic violence in Italy this year. His murderer was extradited from Germany, where he had fled. He is detained in Verona and must appear before a judge on Tuesday. On Saturday a minute’s silence was observed in memory of Giulia Cecchettin. “I was born in 1996 and since then, in Italy alone, almost 3,000 sisters cannot be here because they were killed by the patriarchy. Today I’m going for a walk for her too,” Federica wrote on a sign (like other respondents, she only gave her first name).
“We have to stop the massacre”
The young woman with purple paint on her cheeks – the color chosen by feminist movements – wants a general reflection to be initiated in her country. “We need an introspection of society and its sexist structures,” she explains. It is not only about educating young people to respect, but also about developing the humility to educate each of us, including at the institutional level, regardless of the political stripe of the government. »
“We must stop the massacre,” declared Elly Schlein, secretary of the Democratic Party (left), who was present at the Rome demonstration. The opposition leader did not want to argue about the discretion of many figures in the government majority, but instead advocated a non-partisan approach in the fight against violence against women. Many around her regretted the absence of Giorgia Meloni, the first woman to rule the country.
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