The Criminal Court of Busto Arsizio acquitted Raffaele Meola - trade union representative of CISL - of the crime of sexual violence.

The woman who suffered the violence is a flight attendant who had turned to Meola to be supported by the union in a work case.

We are once again faced with organs of the judicial system that act according to stereotypes and prejudices that make women held responsible for not preventing the violence they suffer.

The three judges of the college, chaired by Nicoletta Guerriero, confirmed a stigma that distances women from justice and that continues to fuel the secondary victimization that women who decide to report often experience on their skin.

Not only attacked by violent men, but also by the institutions that should guarantee their safety.

"The motivation of the sentence is inadmissible - says Antonella Veltri, President D.i.Re - Women on the Net against violence. In fact, the woman who was not quick to react to the aggression is condemned and brings us all back years, nourishing the culture that revitimizes women, not guaranteeing the correct application of the laws that exist and should be implemented ".

The judges, in fact, despite having believed the woman's story, considered the reaction time of 20-30 seconds too long. The dissent - again according to the judges - should have been expressed by the woman immediately, to consider sexual violence as the action of the trade unionist.

“After over 30 years of activity to combat male violence against women, we still find ourselves indignant about facts that shouldn't happen. The network D.i.Re for some time it has urged the institutions to make training compulsory and constant for all operators who - for various reasons - come into contact with women who suffer violence. This sentence shows us how this can no longer be postponed ”- concludes Veltri.