Thousands of people across Italy took to the streets on Saturday to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, following the extradition of a suspect in the killing of a 22-year-old university student.
The attention-grabbing case revolves around the slaying of Giulia Cecchettin, allegedly at the hands of her former boyfriend, and has sparked outrage and activism across the country. Cecchettin had disappeared after meeting 21-year-old Filippo Turetta for a burger at a shopping mall near Venice, just days before she was to receive her degree in biomedical engineering. Her body was found on November 18, covered by black plastic bags in a ditch near a lake in the foothills of the Alps. Turetta was arrested the following day in Germany and has since been extradited back to Italy.
The case has brought increased attention to the issue of violence against women in Italy, where on average one woman is killed every three days. This year alone, 106 women have been killed in Italy, 55 of them allegedly by a partner or former partner, according to data from the Italian Interior Ministry.
In response to Cecchettin’s death, calls to a national hotline for women fearing for their safety have jumped from some 200 to 400 a day, including from parents of young women. Activists from the anti-violence feminist association, Non Una Di Meno (Not one less), organized a rally in Rome and said that the city was “invaded” by 500,000 protesters.
Many of the demonstrations across Italy remembered Cecchettin and her story, with participants expressing a desire for change. Monica Gilardi, aged 46, said that her generation had suffered in silence despite experiencing years of women’s battles and emancipation. “Now that I’ve reached a different awareness, I hope to be able to share it with my sisters,” she said.
Thousands of men also joined the initiatives against gender violence, with one 19-year-old participant saying that he believed Cecchettin’s death changed the perception of the problem among youths. “I hope this is not going to be short-lived,” he added.
In response to the case, the Italian parliament approved new measures to address violence against women, including campaigns in schools to address sexism, machismo, and violence against women.
The issue has also garnered attention internationally, with Pope Francis calling violence against women a “plague” and saying it must be rooted out from society. In Paris, protesters also rallied demanding more government action to prevent gender violence.
Violence against women remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world, with over 700 million women globally having experienced physical and sexual violence at least once in their life, according to the most recent U.N. data. France, like Italy, has also taken steps to address the issue in recent years but still has a long way to go, according to activists.
The attention and activism surrounding Giulia Cecchettin’s killing indicate a growing awareness and urgency to address violence against women, both in Italy and around the world.