Another verdict from Strasbourg, another call from the European Court of Human Rights, which once again reminds us that we are not in a country where women can live in safety, under the protection of justice. This time it is what has been identified as the “De Giorgi Case”, consisting of 27 pages of investigation and a lengthy verdict. We have come to the final verdict: The court condemned the Italian state for failing to adequately protect a Padua woman who repeatedly denounced her abusive ex-husband.. Now Italy will have to compensate Silvia De Giorgi 10 thousand euros plus legal costs.

The condemnation is clear: “Violation of Article 3 of the Convention on Human Rights”, in particular the one that punishes torture and inhuman and degrading treatment. “I denounced my ex eight times because he beat me and spied on me everywhere with tape recorders,” says the forty-four-year-old man. Courier“I went to the hospital, only one complaint was accepted, the first hearing before the judge will take place in a few days, he raised his hands to my children, the carabinieri, who collected my testimony, made them deaf, they were not believed.” This is the story that we already heard several times, which is repeated as if it were inevitable, and which in too many cases, when one realizes the mistake, it is already too late. “Every day I read about women killed by cruel men, but I know what women have to go through when they report that they are not believed, they are left to their fate.”, – comments De Giorgi.

In 2019, Silvia decided that she needed to do something: the Italian justice did not listen to her, her complaints seemed to mean nothing, so she trusted the lawyer Marcello Stellin and applied directly to the European Court of Human Rights. After a long process yesterday, Strasbourg agreed: “It was up to the Italian state to protect the applicant and her children. The way Silvia Di Giorgi was treated by the Italian authorities, the excessive length of the investigation and, in particular, her failure to conduct an effective investigation into the woman’s credible allegations created a situation of impunity.” Now it is written in black and white, but it is clear that on a cultural level (and, unfortunately, not only) something is really wrong: a woman who flaunts herself, exaggerates or lies out of interest or is involved in violence. “I always felt that I was condemned by everyone, even social services. that when they discovered that my ex also beat his children, they made me feel guilty,” says de Giorgi, “in the meantime, the Carabinieri reports ended up on the table of the divorce judge, who determined that the abuse was a normal conflict” . between spouses, no action was taken to protect me and my children, even when social services condemned child abuse. “This time we managed to avoid a tragic ending, and justice prevailed, but, as De Giorgi’s lawyer points out, “The result is not at all obvious.” Meanwhile women keep dying and In the first six months of 2022, there were 42 femicides: one every four days.