Against Rape and Institutional Violence
The political nature of rape and violence as instruments of oppression of women has been clearly shown in recent rape cases in Rome, Italy. Thousands of Italian women have joined together in solidarity with rape victims and in denouncing rape and institutional violence as crimes against all women. The feminist movement in Italy requests the international solidarity of all women in this.
In March, the Italian women mobilized in solidarity with one of the many victims of rape in Italy, Claudia Caputi. On 30 August 1976 Claudia, 17 years old, was raped on the outskirts of Rome by 16 boys, one of whom had befriended her previously. Claudia had come to Rome some months earlier from a provincial town, seeking employment which she found keeping house for a man in a popular neighbourhood of Rome. She reported the rape to the police and seven of the boys were brought to trial In late March 1977. During this period, Claudia was threatened with reprisals and death by friends and relatives of the accused. Although Claudia identified in the courtroom one of those who had threatened her no action was taken against him, nor were any measures taken to protect Claudia.
On Wednesday 30 March 1977, Claudia was again the victim of a brutal act of violence. On that evening she was found on the outskirts of town slashed up over her entire body with a razor and she was brought to a hospital in Rome in a state of shock. (As of the middle of April, she is still hospitalized). On Saturday morning, less than three days after this horrible act of violence, the Public Prosecutor Paolino Dell'Anno notified Claudia in the hospital that she was being put under investigation for "simulation" of this violence and for self-infliction of the wounds.
While all the facts surrounding this second violence are not yet clear, the results of the medical examination show that it is absolutely impossible that the wounds were self-inflicted.
FEMINIST SOLIDARITY
Thousands of Italian women reacted immediately against this new aggression against Claudia by the public prosecutor demonstrating their solidarity with Claudia and denouncing the physical and institutional violence against women. From the very beginning, Italian feminists have been supporting Claudia through the ordeal women are subjected to in a rape trial. Defended by a feminist lawyer, Claudia courageously demanded open hearings so that the violence against women could be denounced publicly. The day after Claudia was slashed up with a razor, twenty thousand women took to the streets. United in this march were the various feminist collectives and UDI (Union of Italian Women), the large national organization of communist women.
COUNTEROFFENSIVE
When the hearings resumed on 4 April, Claudia's lawyer, requested that the Public Prosecutor Dell'Anno be replaced because his attitude throughout the trial demonstrated his complicity with the cultural and ideological values of violence and oppression shown by the accused rapists. When the public prosecutor refused to step down, Claudia's lawyer and the feminists present left the courtroom in protest and joined the thousands of women demonstrating in front of the courthouse.
The feminist collectives and the communist women's organization UDI have formed a college of women lawyers for the defense of Claudia, which includes a socialist member of parliament. In parliament communist and socialist members of parliament have has asked the Minister of Justice to take disciplinary action against the public prosecutor for his overhasty action against Claudia, for showing favouritism to the rapists and for prejudicing the case by trying to throw discredit on the victim of the brutal violence.
International solidarity with Claudia and the Italian women was demonstrated by telegrams and letters which arrived from all over Europe.
At this crucial moment in the campaign there were maneuvers to create confusion and disunity among women in their solidarity with Claudia and to discredit the campaign in the eyes of the public through allegations linking the victim to prostitution. These maneuvers have failed. In the meantime, the trial of the boys who raped Claudia last August has concluded with the conviction of all seven rapists.
FUTURE STRATEGY
The Italian feminists are now working on future strategy for their campaign against violence. Some of the issues under discussion
are:
- The place and effectiveness of mass demonstrations
- While feminists will continue to support rape victims and mobilize concrete solidarity for them, there is some question about making any particular victim a symbol or cause celebre.
- An effective political strategy - especially in view of the fact that almost 20 rape cases are scheduled to appear in court in the next month in Rome.
One concrete step in a political strategy has already been taken. A collective has been formed with representatives from about 10 different feminist collectives in Rome which will work on legal and political measures together with feminist lawyers. The first action will be to try to make it legally possible for women to take group actions in rape cases on the basis that rape is a crime against all women.
The Italian Women's Movement would like to request your help. Could you please send information and materials about political, legal and other actions taken by women and feminist groups against rape and violence and in support of rape victims in your countries? Materials in any language would be very helpful (Among us, we can read English. French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and Scandinavian languages). If possible, please send two copies, one for a permanent collection and one for circulation. ISIS will take the responsibility to make a complete listing of all materials received and send a copy to each of you. We will also keep you informed about the developments in the Italian campaign against violence. The international support and solidarity for Claudia and the whole campaign so far has been tremendous!
Sisterhood is Powerful and International Sisterhood is even more Powerful!