In a shocking incident in Italy, a man was acquitted of raping a woman as she did not scream and cry. The 46-year-old alleged rapist was accused of raping the woman on hospital bed. Italy’s justice minister has reportedly asked officials to look into this case. The ruling by the court has triggered an outrage by women’s groups.
The Italian news agency ANSA (Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata) said on Thursday that Minister Andrea Orlando has asked ministry inspectors to begin checking into the case.
Judge Diamante Minucci said, ‘We have to ask why didn’t you push the rapist away? Why there was no crying, no screaming?’
ANSA said a court in Turin had ruled last month that the woman’s saying “Enough!” to her colleague who allegedly raped her constituted too weak a reaction to prove that she was sexually attacked. The ruling specified she didn’t scream or ask for help.
Lawyers representing the victim said that the woman’s silence represented her ‘painful situation’ rather than proof she had not been raped.
Center-right Forza Italia opposition lawmaker Annagrazia Calabria decried the ruling, saying, “Certainly, you cannot punish the personal reaction of a woman terrified by what is happening to her.”
