The death of a 22-year-old student sparks political reactions. More than a hundred women die murdered every year in the country.
The assassination of Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old student killed by her ex-boyfriend, has highlighted the problem of violence against women in Italy and sparked a debate in the country.
More than a hundred women have been killed in Italy since the start of the year. The number of these “feminicides” (the term refers to the murder of a woman because of her sex) is very difficult to estimate, for various reasons. But Italy is not the country with the highest number of feminicides, if we compare it to the European Union.
Despite this, the case is at the heart of a storm on social networks. Council President Giorgia Meloni has pledged to raise public awareness of this issue and the Italian parliament has just approved a law introducing more protections for women.
Several protests and vigils have taken place across Italy and a national rally is being held in the capital, Rome, on Saturday to mark the International Day Against Violence Against Women.
Benedetta Rossi, from the feminist association “Non Una di Meno”, believes that her country is at a turning point: “More and more people are becoming aware of the problem and I believe that more and more people will now join our protests. We continue to hear a lot of promises from political leaders, but not enough to tackle the problem. What we need to do is create new awareness and understand that this patriarchal culture is part of a system that oppresses us“.
