D.i.Re – Women online against violence – will be a civil party in the trial of the authors of the so-called "gang rape", which occurred in Palermo on 7 July 2023 against a 19-year-old girl. The short trial will begin on April 19 and will see six of the seven young men accused of repeatedly raping the nineteen-year-old, at night and in an isolated place, videotaping the entire rape.
The establishment of a civil party is based precisely on the conduct alleged against the defendants, which clearly damaged the values and purposes of which D.i.Re has been a bearer of and protection of which represents one of the primary aims of the association for years. Furthermore, these conducts are detrimental to the interest in achieving D's objectives.i.Re, for whom the association operates with activities to prevent and combat male violence against women.
“The presence of anti-violence centers in courtrooms to support women is important” – declares the president of D.i.Re, Antonella Veltri. “The Association's task is to convey closeness, solidarity and strength to those who have suffered violence in a moment of confrontation with justice, which we hope will take place with respect for each and everyone, as well as national and international legal provisions” continues Veltri. “This action of ours also aims to reinforce the important work that the anti-violence centers of the Network carry out in the territories alongside women on a daily basis” concludes the president.
“The anti-violence centers commit energy and specifically trained professionals on a daily basis to support women in their journey out of violence; in a historical moment of attack on women's freedom rights, the constitution of a civil party of D.i.Re to the trial for the gang rape that took place in Palermo is not only a political act consistent with the statutory aims of the association, but also a concrete gesture of solidarity towards the offended person" declares Elvira Rotigliano, criminal lawyer at the Le Onde anti-violence centre. “If it is true that violence cannot be resolved in the courtroom, it is equally true that judges, with their sentences, play a leading role in cultural change and in the deconstruction of gender prejudices and stereotypes, which, when instead , contribute to the secondary victimization of women. D.i.Re with his presence at the trial he concretely commits himself to monitoring and preventing any form of blaming the victim" concludes the lawyer.