Rome (Reuters) – The recent murder of a college student and the subsequent arrest of her former boyfriend have shed light on the issue of violence against women in Italy. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made a commitment to enhance protections for women and increase public awareness regarding this matter.
Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old from a small town near Venice, was discovered dead on Saturday near a lake with multiple stab wounds. She had been missing for a week after going out with her ex-partner Filippo Turetta.
Cecchettin’s sister stated that the couple had separated but had gone shopping together to buy a dress for her graduation ceremony before they disappeared. Turetta was apprehended on a motorway in eastern Germany in a broken down car late on Saturday and is awaiting extradition.
German police in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt have confirmed that he is wanted in Italy and is currently in custody.
Prosecutors in Venice have named Turetta as their only suspect, and his defense lawyer has informed Italian media that Turetta will not oppose his extradition.
The case has dominated both the media and politics. “We all hoped in recent days that Giulia was alive. Unfortunately, our greatest fears have come true,” Meloni wrote on the social platform X, previously known as Twitter.
“Every single woman killed because she is ‘guilty’ of being free is an aberration that cannot be tolerated and that pushes me to continue on the path taken to stop this barbarism,” added Meloni, Italy’s first woman prime minister.
She noted that Italy’s upper house was set to commence voting on Wednesday on a bill that expands protection measures for women at risk and announced a public awareness campaign against femicides.
Demonstrations are expected in Rome and other Italian cities on Saturday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
According to interior ministry figures, as of Nov. 12, 102 women have been killed this year in Italy, including 53 by their partner or former partner. This is a significant increase from the same period in 2022, 2021, and 2020. Italy’s main opposition Democratic Party, led by Elly Schlein, has called for bipartisan efforts against violence against women.
Schlein has specifically proposed a law that implements lessons on respect and personal relations in all schools, with the aim of eradicating the toxic patriarchal culture of possession and control over women’s bodies and lives.
(This story has been corrected to add a dropped phrase and source in murder statistics, in paragraph 10)
(Additional reporting by Keith Weir, editing by Andrew Heavens)
