From the Mirabal sisters to Franca Viola, up to the new forms of psychological control: history, culture, laws, and the ongoing challenges of a phenomenon that continues to evolve without disappearing
Abstract: The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women commemorates the sacrifice of the Mirabal sisters and celebrates historic milestones such as the courage of Franca Viola, the first Italian woman to refuse a “rehabilitating marriage” to her rapist. However, despite reforms and innovative laws, violence and control over women persist, as shown by the recent case of a young girl from Carpi who had to forgo a school trip due to her boyfriend’s jealousy. The 2025 Istat data confirm the alarming scale of the phenomenon in Italy, highlighting the urgent need to invest in education and awareness-raising to build a society free from violence and patriarchy. Only by integrating legal measures with cultural change will it be possible to truly prevent violence and protect future generations.
Keywords: #GenderBasedViolence #Femicide #CoerciveControl #RespectEducation #GenderEquality #WomensRights #MirabalSisters #FrancaViola #WomensHistory #Patriarchy #ViolenceAgainstWomen #CultureOfRespect #CodiceRosso #Stalking #PsychologicalViolence #YouthAndViolence #ConsentEducation #ISTAT2025 #Prevention #VictimSupport #GenderOppression #EndViolenceDay #November25 #NationalEmergency #Legislation #DigitalViolence #DeborahBreda#EthicaSocietas #ScientificJournal #ethicasocietasjournal #scientificreview #ethicasocietasupli
Gender-Based Violence: A Phenomenon as Ancient as the World
The Cultural and Historical Root of Violence Against Women
Gender-based violence is a phenomenon as ancient as human history itself, rooted in societies that for millennia have justified the subjugation of women through patriarchal cultures, myths, and discriminatory laws. As early as ancient civilizations such as Greece and Rome, violence against the female body was used to maintain social control and assert male dominance—an enduring cultural legacy that has survived through the centuries into the present day.
The Sacrifice of the Mirabal Sisters: A Universal Symbol
The Origin of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, observed every November 25, originates from the sacrifice of the Mirabal sisters, three activists from the Dominican Republic brutally assassinated in 1960 by agents of the dictator Trujillo. These women became universal symbols of resistance against oppression and gender-based violence, which is why the UN established this date as a global reminder and call for reflection.
Franca Viola: The Courage to Say No to the “Rehabilitating Marriage”
A Historical and Legislative Turning Point in Italy
In Italy, a fundamental turning point is represented by the story of Franca Viola. In December 1965, at the age of 17, she was kidnapped, beaten, and raped by her former fiancé, Filippo Melodia, and several accomplices. According to the law at the time, the so-called rehabilitating marriage could extinguish the crime if the victim married her aggressor, thereby “restoring honor” to the family. Franca Viola was the first Italian woman to refuse this imposition, choosing instead to report her attackers.
Her gesture marked a cultural and legal revolution, contributing to the abolition of these oppressive norms in 1981 and opening a new chapter in the protection of women’s rights and dignity.
Violence Today: Control Disguised as Love
The Carpi Case and Psychological Violence in Young Relationships
Nevertheless, legislative progress is not enough to eliminate violence, which persists in both overt and subtle forms. A recent example is the case of a young girl from Carpi (Modena) who had to forgo a school trip because her boyfriend demanded to geolocate her, driven by jealousy and control. Criminologist Roberta Bruzzone identified this as a clear case of psychological violence and coercive control, denouncing the use of technology as a tool of domination in youth relationships.
This episode highlights the urgent need for targeted educational programs in schools to help young people recognize and prevent toxic relationships.
Alarming Numbers of a National Emergency
The Latest ISTAT Statistics on Gender-Based Violence in Italy
The 2025 ISTAT data show that 6.4 million Italian women have suffered at least one form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Although laws such as the Codice Rosso have introduced more effective protections, the phenomenon remains widespread, with deep impacts on victims, families, and society.
The Evolution of Legislation Against Gender-Based Violence in Italy
1975: Reform of Family Law (Law 151/1975)
Established legal equality between spouses, abolishing marital authority and laying the foundation for recognizing domestic violence as a crime against the person.
1981: Abolition of the Rehabilitating Marriage and the Honor Killing Provision (1981–1983)
Their abolition removed mitigating factors that justified femicides and forced marriages, affirming full respect for women’s dignity.
1996: Sexual Violence Law (Law 66/1996)
Reclassified sexual violence from a crime against public morality to a crime against the person, affirming sexual freedom as an inviolable right.
2009: Introduction of the Crime of Stalking (Law 38/2009)
Recognized repeated psychological violence as a criminal offense, extending protection beyond physical violence.
2013: Decree on Femicide (Law 119/2013)
Introduced harsher penalties and protective measures, recognizing violence against women as a national emergency.
2025: Bill on the Autonomous Crime of Femicide
The bill No. 1433, approved in the Senate, introduces the autonomous crime of femicide with severe penalties, including life imprisonment for killing a woman because of her gender. It strengthens procedural safeguards and expands aggravating circumstances for “Codice Rosso” crimes committed with femicidal intent. The law represents a milestone in combating gender-based violence and aims to fill a legislative gap regarding this specific crime.
Conclusions
These pages reveal an uncomfortable truth: gender-based violence has not been eradicated—it has transformed.
We have dismantled the darkest laws (from honor killings to the rehabilitating marriage) and built cutting-edge legal protections, yet the toxic root of patriarchal possession is still alive.
Today, it is no longer called “honor”—it is called coercive control: imposed geolocation, isolating jealousy, emotional manipulation disguised as love.
The battleground has shifted from the halls of Parliament to the classrooms. The next crucial frontier is education:
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Education about consent, not only in sexuality, but as radical respect for others’ choices, autonomy, and boundaries.
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Education to recognize coercive control, exposing psychological violence that leaves no bruises but destroys identity.
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Education to dismantle the false myth of love as possession, teaching that jealousy is not passion, but disrespect—the first link in a chain.
We have the laws to punish.
Now we need the culture to prevent.
Because every girl who gives up a school trip because a boyfriend wants to track her is not just a victim:
she is proof that today, Franca Viola would still have to cry out:
“I am not anyone’s property. No one can force me to love someone I do not respect. The shame belongs to those who commit violence, not to those who suffer it.”
The fight is not over; it has simply moved from the realm of law to the realm of the human spirit—and there, the most powerful weapon is education.
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