A rise in rapes and sexual violence
in Italy is linked to illegal immigration, Education Minister
Giuseppe Valditara said Monday, sparking outrage on the Left
which accused him of spreading disgraceful fake news.
"The scope of our Constitution, which does not allow
discrimination based on sex, must be clear to every newcomer, to
all those who want to live with us," Valditara said in a video
message broadcast during the presentation of the Giulia
Cecchettin Foundation at the Lower House.
"We must not pretend not to see that the increase in sexual
violence is also linked to forms of marginalization and deviance
that in some way derive from illegal immigration".
Cecchettin's father, Gino, asked about Valditara's statement,
said: "Let's say that there are values that we agree on and
others that we will have to talk about".
The murder a year ago of 22-year-old Cecchettin by her ex
boyfriend shocked Italy and highlighted its problem with
femicide and gender-based violence, leading to the setting up of
the foundation in her name.
Her ex, Filippo Turetta has admitted to stabbing Cecchettin to
death at Fossò, near Venice, on November 11, 2023, days before
she was due to
graduate from Padua University in biomedical engineering.
The case caused widespread dismay partly because of the
brutality of the killing and also because of the young age of
the perpetrator and victim.
Prosecutors say Turetta, who was doing the same course as
Cecchettin, stabbed her 75 times.
At a recent court hearing Turetta admitted having planned the
femicide.
The Giulia Cecchettin Foundation was presented at gthe House a
year to the day after her body was found, having been murdered a
week previously.
Valditara's words spurred an outcry on the centre left with
Democratic Party Senator Marco Meloni saying "he's gone beyond
all sense of decency and I am ashamed on his behalf.
Meloni said: "Valditara's words are indecent. To exploit a
tragedy - or rather the murder of a girl by a man who considered
her 'his' - for one's own ideological ends, goes beyond the
threshold of all decency.
"Today Valditara said words unworthy of a minister, especially
of Education.
"I am ashamed as a man and as a representative of the
institutions".
+ Europa (More Europe) leader Riccardo Maga said:
"According to the Minister of Education Valditara, the increase
in sexual violence is also linked to illegal immigration.
"His statement is contradicted by every statistic: the data
released by the Ministry of the Interior speak clearly: over 80%
of femicides in Italy are committed by Italian citizens.
"Valditara should be ashamed: his is just a shameless racist
exploitation, made moreover on the occasion of the presentation
of the Foundation dedicated to Giulia Cecchettin. We thought
that on Saturday with Delmastro we had reached the lowest point.
And instead today the Minister of Education arrived, peddling
fake news".
(Justice Undersecretary Andrea Delmastro made the latest in a
string of controversial statements at the weekend saying he felt
"joy at not letting detainees breathe behind the glass of police
cars".)
And Green-Left Alliance (AVS) Senator Aurora Floridia said abut
Valditara:
"Once again, Minister Valditara is making irresponsible and
unfounded statements.
"It is extremely serious to attribute the increase in violence
against women to illegal immigration and to make propaganda on
the backs of migrants.
"Even more so in his role as Minister of Education and Merit.
"Gender violence has no passport, but deep roots in patriarchal
culture, including Italian, in the lack of education on respect
and in the absence of effective policies to prevent and combat
these crimes.
"Instead of exploiting such a serious issue to fuel tensions and
divisive rhetoric, the Meloni government should instead commit
to strengthening anti-violence centers, to guarantee adequate
resources and to introduce affective education programs in
schools.
"Violence against women is fought with prevention, support for
victims and a justice system that works, not with controversy
and fake news".
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