Most Italians believe that the country's laws offer inadequate protection to women who are victims of sexual abuse, according to a survey published here on Thursday.
The poll by research institute Publica Res-SWG, commissioned by the women's crisis helpline Telefono Rosa, found that 75% believe the laws don't do enough to protect victims, while institutions don't provide sufficient support in the aftermath of an attack.
Although this feeling is more prevalent among women, 71% of men agreed. The dissatisfaction peaked among those between the ages of 35 and 54, nearly 80% of whom felt this to be the case. A third of those questioned wanted tougher penalties for the perpetrators of such crimes, a percentage that rose among older respondents.
Seventeen percent thought chemical castration should be introduced for repeat offenders, the survey found. However, the majority also thought that more should be done to prevent such crimes occurring in the first place. Thirteen percent called for more police patrols, 12% for public awareness campaigns and 10% for anti-violence centres.
Telefono Rosa, which has been offering free help to the victims of sexual abuse since 1988, recently reported that calls to its hotline had tripled in 2005. According to the association, sexual violence, which usually takes place in the home, causes more fatalities among women than cancer.
A Council of Europe report similarly noted that sexually related violence kills more women between the ages of 16 and 44 than cancer or road traffic accidents. Studies by the World Health Organization have found that one in five women globally will be a victim of rape or attempted rape, while 70% of female murder victims are killed by their partners.
Police in Rome have calculated that a rape occurs in the capital every three days. Rape prosecutions in Italy rose by 55% to 3,500 between
1996 and 2003, while alleged rapes of minors rose from 174 to 268. But successful prosecutions stayed at around 1,200-1,300.
Italy's highest court has a controversial track record in sexual rights cases, having handed down a number of judgments that have made headlines around the world. Earlier this year, the Court of Cassation held that raping an underage girl who has already had sex is less serious than raping one who is a virgin. Upholding an appeal from a man convicted of raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter, the court said the girl's past sexual experience amounted to "extenuating circumstances" for the man.
Two other court decisions have also sparked outcry.
In one case, the court said a woman wearing tight jeans must have been a willing participant in an alleged rape, because the rapist could not have tugged them down without her help.
In another the judges said patting the bottoms of female employees was OK as long as it was "sudden and isolated."
