Italian judges this week acquitted a janitor who sexually assaulted a student.
According to the “palpata breve” ruling, which is Italian for brief touch, it is legal to paw – if it is shorter than 10 seconds.
– It is so unbelievably disgusting, says Sabrina D’Andrea, political advisor from Italy.
What in 2023 is considered by many to be a clear-cut case of sexual harassment was ruled by Italian judges in Rome earlier this week as perfectly legal.
Last year, a 66-year-old janitor groped a 17-year-old student. The incident was witnessed by the student’s friend. The girl has told about the incident to Corriere della Sera.
The harassment
The man followed the girl and her friend – who testified in the case – up a flight of stairs in the school building.
He pulled her pants down, grabbed her bottom inside the panties and grabbed it.
When the girl then turned around, the man said “Old man, you know I’m only joking”.
The student reported the warden to the police in Rome in April 2022. Shortly thereafter, the man admitted and emphasized that he meant the whole thing as a joke.
Palpata Breve – the verdict
A prosecutor charged the man and demanded a 3.5-year prison sentence.
Instead, the judges in Rome earlier this week chose to free the 66-year-old man from suspicion of sexual harassment.
The justification for the release is that the approach lasted less than ten seconds and that it was a brief touch.
That’s why the case is called “Palpata breve” – short touch – in Italian.
The girl told Corriere della Sera that her anger grew inside after reading the verdict.
– I felt so much anger. This is not justice. I’m starting to think I was wrong to trust institutions because I felt betrayed twice: first at school, where what happened happened; then of course, she says and continues:
– Other people will now think that it is not worth reporting. The sentence can have a deterrent effect. In my case, the act was reported by the school, which supported me. And it has to happen to get justice. Silence in general protects attackers.
Italian political consultant Sabrina D’Andrea agrees that what the girl describes is a structural problem:
– This says a lot about Italian society. I’m really not surprised, she says to Aftonbladet.
Protests during #10secondi
The reactions after the verdict have been strong.
Both women and men have vented their anger on social media, where protests with the hashtag #10secondi – 10 seconds – are growing stronger.
It is mainly on Instagram and Tiktok that people post videos where they caress themselves to demonstrate how uncomfortably long ten seconds can feel for a person who falls victim to harassment.
Sabrina D’Andrea believes that the verdict reflects a stagnation of women’s rights in Italy in general.
– It goes hand in hand with the regression we are experiencing in Italy when it comes to women’s rights, she says.
Even famous people participate in the protests that spread online. The message is that sexual harassment is a crime – no matter how long it lasts.
– I am so proud that Italian women and men are standing up against this and I really hope that it creates a debate in Italian society, says Sabrina D’Andrea.
FACTS “Palpata breve” – the judgment in brief
arrow On April 12, 2022, a 17-year-old student reported a warden after being sexually assaulted. The crime was witnessed by a friend of the 17-year-old and the man later confessed to the crime.
arrow The prosecutor demanded a 3.5-year prison sentence for sexual harassment.
arrow A court in Rome acquitted the man this week as the assault was shorter than ten seconds.
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