Strasbourg Court condemns Italy: State to pay €60,000 to woman whose rape case was dismissed by prosecutor with sexist reasoning
The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Italy to compensate a French citizen after an Italian prosecutor had described it as "normal" for a man to overcome the resistance of a partner who is "tired".
Strasbourg Court condemns Italy: State to pay €60,000 to woman whose rape case was dismissed by prosecutor with sexist reasoning
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Italy to pay compensation of approximately €60,000 in favour of Audrey Ubeda, a French citizen who in 2021 reported repeated violence, including sexual abuse, by her Italian partner with whom she lived in the province of Avellino. The ruling comes after the prosecutor in charge of the case had requested the dismissal of the investigation, justifying the decision with statements deemed by the Court to be "sexist" and capable of trivialising gender-based violence.
According to the Court's findings, Ubeda filed a complaint in April 2021, accusing the man of physical and psychological abuse against her and towards her two minor children, as well as repeated rape. The woman also reported an incident in which the partner allegedly held a knife to her throat in front of two witnesses, threatening that her story would end up in newspapers like other femicides.
In the same year, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation requested dismissal. In the request, the knife incident was described as a "bad joke", whilst the physical attacks on the children were attributed to mere disciplinary action within the limits of parental authority. Regarding the sexual violence, the magistrate wrote that it was difficult to establish, since the man might not have been aware of his partner's refusal, given that "it is normal for men to have to overcome minimal resistance that every woman is inclined to put up when she is tired from everyday life and a man begins a sexual approach".
The Strasbourg Court established that such remarks contained "sexist stereotypes" and minimised sexual violence, exposing the victim to further humiliation and revictimisation. The judges further noted that the magistrate — and, more broadly, the Italian judicial system — had not ensured a rapid, thorough and effective investigation, as required in cases of domestic violence.
The request for dismissal was ultimately rejected and the case was assigned to a new prosecutor. The man was committed for trial and, at first instance, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison; he is currently at liberty pending the outcome of his appeal.
Beyond the compensation, the Court found that the Italian authorities violated the prohibition on "inhuman and degrading treatment", amongst other things by failing to provide adequate housing for the woman and her children, who were forced to live for three years in a shelter, and by rejecting the request for transfer to France.
Ubeda, who had since left her abusive partner, described the ruling as an "act of justice" and a "victory for all women". The ruling did not specify the gender of the prosecutor, but the woman reported having experienced "shock" upon learning that it was a female magistrate.
Source: 444.hu
Source: 444