Femicide in Italy
Italy has been in an uproar ever since 22 year old Giulia Cecchettin was found murdered. Giulia’s ex-boyfriend was arrested for her murder after attempting to flee to Germany. Protests have erupted across the country to decry the ongoing violence against women that many say has long been ignored, with an average of one woman killed every 3 days. The response to this femicide has been grand, with protests and memorials taking place for days. Not just the country, but Giulia’s family has been insistent that while Giulia was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, her femicide is not solely his; it is a crime of the state.
This year, 106 women in Italy have been killed, with the majority of their killers being their partners or former partners. This issue of femicide is not new yet the responses to it are ever-evolving. Femicide is not simply the murder of a woman or girl. The premise of it is that they are murdered because they are a woman or girl. It is the ultimate excretion of control, which is why it is not surprising when the killer is their boyfriend/husband/friend/or father. Femicide is maintained through societal norms and this is exactly what Giulia’s family is working to make clear. Yes, her ex-boyfriend killed her, but he did it because society allowed him to.
Giulia disappeared on November 11th after last being seen with her ex-boyfriend, Fliippo Turetta. Turetta was described as controlling, possessive, and jealous. There are reports of people hearing arguing and screaming as well as security footage of Filippo attacking Giulia, ultimately killing her. Filippo fled the country, making it to Germany before being arrested on November 19th. This case has rattled the country, with many protests taking place on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Vigils and memorials have been set up to commemorate Giulia’s life and also encourage a discussion on the many Giulia’s in Italy. Her death isn’t an isolated issue and activists are working to ensure it is not swept under the rug like the many cases alike in the past.
Giulia’s sister, Elena, has rejected common media tropes of men who kill their girlfriends. The media often likes to present them as “anomalies” or “outsiders” as if what they did is isolated and a personal problem instead of being a part of widespread rape culture. Elena wrote a compelling piece challenging these tropes. In response to the media labeling Filippo as a ‘monster,’ Elena responded, “...He is not a monster. A monster is an exception…a person for whom society must not take responsibility.” This lack of responsibility is a part of the problem. Elena goes on to say that the men who do this are not sick rather they are “healthy children under the patriarchy, of rape culture.” This dismissal of murder is what makes the label of femicide so important. It stresses that this murder occurred because of the patriarchy; because of rape cutlure. It is sustained because society treats it as something that is isolated.
Elena is clear in her responses to the murder of her sister. She has stressed the need for a push against patriarchy and the violent outcomes of it. She calls for schools to dedicate more resources to sexual and emotional education so that young boys do not grow up thinking that they are allowed to control and possess girls. The response to femicide is a challenge of societal norms that allow it. Femicide is bigger than murder; it is a crime committed because the state allows it to. It is a crime because the culture surrounding women is so inherently flawed that even when women are murdered, they are blamed. Giulia’s father challenges the very culture that had a hand in the murder of his daughter. In his speech at her funeral, Giulia’s father addresses men directly, saying that they should be agents of change against gender-based violence and that they should not turn away from violence and view it as normal. He goes on to also address political institutions, the media, and parents, making it clear that it is on everyone to combat femicide and that it cannot be ignored.
Femicide is a crime of control. Society often likes to spin it as a crime of passion, romanticizing the violence within it and seeing it as the man being so in love with the girl that he couldn't help but not let her go. Femicide is not romantic. It is not a tragic love story. It is the ultimate patriarchal control over a woman. So often after a woman is murdered, the media rushes to paint a picture that essentially blames the woman for her murder. This is apparent in Giulia’s case as well as cases around the world. Femicide is not isolated in any one part of the world. It is an issue in Italy, England, Iran, Mexico, the U.S., South Africa, and so many more. The issue at hand varies within different countries, but above all it is because a woman’s life is not as valued as a man’s and that her life is meant to be controlled. To combat this, we must challenge the imagery of women. Violence against women must never be excused and there needs to be a shift in how cultures view women.
Italy must take more direct measures to reject the impunity within violence against women. Many Italian feminists protested against the government’s decision to abstain from the Istanbul Convention, which takes measures to prevent violence against women. After the discovery of Giulia’s body, Italian lawmakers moved swiftly to adopt measures to prevent violence against women. While this is a positive move, it should not take women being killed to have it done. Change needs to happen now. No woman should have to live a life that is filled with danger because of her gender and the way society views her. We call on all countries to adopt policies that eliminate the impunity within femicide so that women can live a life free from violence.
#EndFemicide
#EndGenderBasedViolence
#MeToo
Sources:
https://www.direcontrolaviolenza.it/en/lettera-aperta-alla-presidente-del-consiglio-giorgia-meloni/
