Premier Giorgia Meloni said on
Wednesday she would not have intervened on the merits of a case
involving Senate Speaker Ignazio La Russa's son Leonardo, who
has been accused by a young woman of sexual violence at his home
after an evening at a Milan disco.
"As a mother I can understand the suffering of the Senate
speaker, although I would not have intervened on the merits of
the issue," Meloni told reporters after the NATO summit in
Vilnius, Lithuania.
On Friday Ignazio La Russa a top exponent of Meloni's right-wing
Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, issued a statement defending his
son and calling into question the alleged victim's version of
events on grounds she had taken cocaine.
He also said the fact that she filed the complaint 40 days after
the alleged assault on May 18 "objectively raises many doubts".
His comments sparked a storm of protest from the opposition.
"By nature I tend to sympathize with a girl who speaks out, and
I don't consider the timing to be a problem," Meloni said.
The premier also recalled that in early June the government
approved a bill clamping down on gender-based violence after a
string of headline-grabbing femicides in Italy.
"This has always been the work that speaks for us," said Meloni.
"I hope I have clarified my point of view on this matter," she
added.
The bill includes new restraining orders and heightened
surveillance on men found guilty of domestic violence and it
also boosts the emergency gender violence hotline.
The measures aim to interrupt the cycle of violence" and to "act
promptly and effectively", according to Family and Equal
Opportunities Minister Eugenia Roccella.
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