He was 53 years old Loredana Ferrara. Last April 20th she was killed in Vignale Monferrato, Alessandria. Stabbed in the throat in the street, right in the center and in front of witnesses. The main suspect is her ex-partner, Silvio Gambetta, 57, who was stopped and then arrested on suspicion of murder. What we cannot resign ourselves to is that, for the umpteenth time, Loredana had confided in her ex-husband and acquaintances of having a relationship with an aggressive, threatening and troublesome person. That he had threatened to kill her with a knife, which is why she had made all the knives disappear… She had never reported it, not that, but she had also talked about it with her friends and in the end she had decided to leave due to his violent behaviour. And he never accepted it. Before stabbing her, he tried to run her over. We talk about it with Marta Cignalawyer of the Legal Office of Differenza Donna Ong.
In a case in which the victim had never filed a formal complaint, but had reported serious threats, what could have triggered intervention from the authorities anyway?
«The authority can intervene only if informed of the crime, if not by the victim, then also by people close to him who are aware of the dangerous situation. In fact, in crimes that can be prosecuted ex officio, such as family abuse, it is possible to intervene even without formalizing a complaint from the offended person, provided that the judicial authority becomes aware of the facts. When aware of a dangerous situation for the victim, the authority can intervene with a precautionary measure by forcing the perpetrator, for example, not to approach the offended person by applying an electronic bracelet. It is very important, however, that the offended person participates in the decision to inform the authority.”
Can the testimonies of friends and acquaintances about previous threats and attacks have weight in the criminal trial? How?
«It is essential that the friends and relatives of the victim who were aware of the situation prior to the femicide can give the authorities all the useful information to reconstruct the relational context in which Loredana’s killing took place in order to be able to correctly qualify the facts as femicide, pursuant to art. 577 bis of the Criminal Code according to which the act is committed as an act of hatred or discrimination or abuse or as an act of control or possession or domination as a woman, or in relation to the woman’s refusal to establish or maintain an emotional relationship or as an act of limitation of her individual freedoms, punishable by life imprisonment. We now know that feminicide is the tip of the iceberg of a series of previous behaviors of control, abuse and violence.”
The role of friends and relatives. Why didn’t anyone do anything?
«The role of civil society as a whole is not to underestimate the violent conduct that occurs in intimate relationships and direct women who, like Loredana, live in a condition of intimidation and suffer physical and psychological aggression from partners or ex-partners, towards anti-violence centers in order to be able to make informed decisions, understand the risk situation and know the existing tools to protect their own safety».
How does the fact that the attacker first tried to run her over and then stabbed her affect the qualification of the crime and the aggravating circumstances?
«The fact that the man first attempted to run her over and then stabbed Loredana may be relevant to the intensity of the intent. During the investigations, the authority will evaluate whether there are the conditions to contest the aggravating circumstance of premeditation.
We cannot resign ourselves to the idea that if I decide to leave you I risk my life
«Loredana’s case teaches us that we cannot underestimate: the violence that occurs in intimate relationships are not private facts and are not an expression of too much love, but underlie a conception of the other centered on possession and control that is harmful to the fundamental rights of freedom to self-determination and even the right to life. Above all, we must intervene earlier. Especially among the new generations, spread the concept of respect for others and break old stereotypes of masculinity according to which the freedom of others cannot be accepted.”
