Violence and discrimination against women in Italy is a “prevailing and urgent concern,” a European expert on human rights on Thursday last week said in a scathing report that comes amid a national outcry over the murder of a young woman, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend.
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic faulted Italy across multiple areas, saying that Italian courts and police sometimes revictimize the victims of gender-based violence and that women have increasingly less access to abortion services.
She also said that Italy is placed last in the EU ranking for gender equality in the workplace.
The report followed a visit by Mijatovic to Italy in June and also focused on the country’s handling of migrants and press freedom.
However, the section of her report on women comes amid a national reckoning on gender-based violence following a case that has grabbed headlines for a month.
Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old who was about to graduate with a bioengineering degree, was found dead, her throat slit, in a ditch in a remote area of the Alpine foothills on Nov. 18. She had disappeared along with her ex-boyfriend a week earlier after meeting him for a burger.
Filippo Turetta, 21, was arrested in Germany, and is being held in an Italian jail pending an investigation to bring charges.
Turetta’s lawyer has said that he admitted to the crime under prosecutors’ questioning.
Cecchetin was among 102 women murdered in Italy from Jan. 1 to the middle of last month, more than half by current or former intimate partners, the Italian Ministry of the Interior said.
While Italy has made some progress and passed notable legislation to punish perpetrators of violence against women, courts interpret sex crimes differently, and there are uneven, regional disparities in access and funding to shelters and other services for victims of domestic violence, the report said.
“There is an urgent need to combat sexism and prejudice against women among law enforcement, prosecution and judicial authorities, which contribute toward the low prosecution and conviction rates in cases of violence against women and impunity for perpetrators,” the report said.
It called for better training of personnel to improve the treatment of victims and prevent them from being revictimized.
In its official response, the Italian government said the report was incomplete and in some cases incorrect, and that new prevention initiatives are under way, along with funding.
It also referred to provisions of its five-year strategic plan to address gender equality.
Italy ranks 13th in the EU’s Gender Equality Index, under the EU average and the worst score for any major European economy. The index ranks EU countries on certain benchmarks in economic, political, education and health-based criteria. In the criteria of gender equality in the workplace, Italy ranks last altogether.
Motherhood in general and the COVID-19 pandemic in particular have exacerbated the gender gap in the workplace, with 38 percent of women changing their employment status for family reasons, compared with 12 percent of men, the report said.
The gender pay gap is also widening, particularly in the private sector where women earn up to 20 percent and in some cases 24 percent less than their male counterparts, the report said.
Mijatovic blamed a deeply rooted culture of “entrenched stereotypes” about women, their negative portrayal in the media and “sexist hate speech” in public debate as part of the problem.
In its response, the Italian government strongly protested the assertion, listing the women in public office, starting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first female head of government.
On sexual and reproductive health, the commissioner said that women in Italy have uneven access to abortion, which has been legal since 1978. She cited bureaucratic obstacles, regional disparities and widespread conscientious objection by doctors who refuse to terminate pregnancies.
US President Donald Trump is systematically dismantling the network of multilateral institutions, organizations and agreements that have helped prevent a third world war for more than 70 years. Yet many governments are twisting themselves into knots trying to downplay his actions, insisting that things are not as they seem and that even if they are, confronting the menace in the White House simply is not an option. Disagreement must be carefully disguised to avoid provoking his wrath. For the British political establishment, the convenient excuse is the need to preserve the UK’s “special relationship” with the US. Following their White House
Taiwan is a small, humble place. There is no Eiffel Tower, no pyramids — no singular attraction that draws the world’s attention. If it makes headlines, it is because China wants to invade. Yet, those who find their way here by some twist of fate often fall in love. If you ask them why, some cite numbers showing it is one of the freest and safest countries in the world. Others talk about something harder to name: The quiet order of queues, the shared umbrellas for anyone caught in the rain, the way people stand so elderly riders can sit, the
After the coup in Burma in 2021, the country’s decades-long armed conflict escalated into a full-scale war. On one side was the Burmese army; large, well-equipped, and funded by China, supported with weapons, including airplanes and helicopters from China and Russia. On the other side were the pro-democracy forces, composed of countless small ethnic resistance armies. The military junta cut off electricity, phone and cell service, and the Internet in most of the country, leaving resistance forces isolated from the outside world and making it difficult for the various armies to coordinate with one another. Despite being severely outnumbered and
After the confrontation between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday last week, John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, discussed this shocking event in an interview. Describing it as a disaster “not only for Ukraine, but also for the US,” Bolton added: “If I were in Taiwan, I would be very worried right now.” Indeed, Taiwanese have been observing — and discussing — this jarring clash as a foreboding signal. Pro-China commentators largely view it as further evidence that the US is an unreliable ally and that Taiwan would be better off integrating more deeply into
RSS