The trial of Filippo Turetta for the murder of Giulia Cecchettin, his former girlfriend, opened on Monday, September 23 in Venice. This femicide that occurred last November had sparked an unprecedented wave of indignation in the country.
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Filippo Turetta’s trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Giulia Cecchettin opened in the absence of the accused. His lawyer put forward as an explanation the very strong media pressure surrounding his trial. He faces life in prison for murder and kidnapping. The young man is accused of having premeditated the murder since he had prepared two bags, one filled with gifts for the young woman, the other with the dagger that he would use to kill her. This is not the trial of the femicide, but that of Filippo Turetta ” insisted the prosecutor of Venice, quoted by the local press. The victim’s father, Gino Cecchettin, refused to make any statement upon his arrival at the court.
In November 2023, theItaly had discovered with horror the images captured by surveillance cameras and the details of the murder of Giulia Cecchettin, 22, killed by dozens of stab wounds. At the same time, the country had discovered the shy face of this biomedical engineering student in Padua, a university town about forty kilometers from Venice, and the obsessive text messages sent by her boyfriend when she wanted to leave him. After getting rid of the body, the young man had fled to Germany where he was caught by the police a week later. A chase followed live by the Italian media, which had also contributed to publicizing the case.
An ancient and deep-rooted evil
This femicide heinous has provoked a kind of awareness within Italian society due to the circumstances of the crime, but also due to the very strong reaction of Giulia’s family. Her sister Elena had denounced the patriarchy and the rape culture that permeate Italian society and asked ” a minute of sound and fury ” when Italian leader Giorgia Meloni proposed a minute of silence. At Giulia Cecchettin’s funeral in December 2023, her father asked that his daughter’s death ” be a turning point in ending the scourge of violence against women ” He also called for questioning “ the culture that tends to minimize male violence » in Italy.
The case has sparked unprecedented demonstrations of support in the country and a national debate that has resulted in a series of measures aimed at strengthening the protection of women. Almost a year after the murder of Giulia Cecchettin, these measures are slow to be implemented and will not be enough in the eyes of feminist associations that are also calling for educational work to be carried out to combat the scourge of violence against women.
According to official figures, a woman is killed every three days in Italy, a figure comparable to that in France, but much higher than the number of murders per capita whose victims are men. Italy is predominantly Catholic. Traditional gender roles persist there and the culture of flirting often goes hand in hand with macho and sexist behavior on the part of men.
Also listen toFemicides, a global history