The MARCA, Museum of the Arts of Catanzaro, opened its doors to the “De Nobili” Institute last Saturday with an exhibition set up by the students of the artistic branch in collaboration with some classes of the three-year course of the other branches. This morning the 5CSE, 3BL and 3 AL classes together with two fifth year students of the artistic high school attended the debate-conference scheduled starting from 10.30 am.
On the occasion of November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the director, prof. Angelo Gagliardistrongly wanted to promote awareness inherent to the dramatic story of femicide experienced by Loredana Scalone told today byto sister Giulia. The debate opened with the horrifying and alarming Istat data and the reading of the source “The urgency of knowledge” by Linda Laura Sabbadiniformer Director of the Department for the development of methods and technologies for the production and dissemination of statistical information at Istat, who has led the process of radical renewal in the field of social and gender statistics in Italy since the 1990s.
According to this last data it can be clearly seen that 39.3% of men deny the existence of sexual violence, 19.7% think that women provoke sexual violence with their way of dressing, 16% believe that it is acceptable for a man to check his girlfriend’s cell phone mate.
Who is a victim of femicide? In Italy there is a femicide every 72 hours, but concrete attempts to reduce our patriarchal culture are a complete failure; we live in a chauvinist society where men are children of patriarchy, men have unjustly taken the “faculty” of power, possession and control. It is often thought that the victim of femicide is a woman who is not strong and independent. But Loredana Scalone has been an independent and strong woman since she was a child, according to what her sister stated. Almost the story of a princess transformed into Cinderella, a sunny girl with the desire to live, born into a large family and after compulsory school she works as a worker precisely because of this strong desire for intrinsic will, in order to have her independence economical. She marries young to a very grown up man and finds herself as a princess to Cinderella because she has to fix up the house and raise her daughter and her husband’s 4 children. It’s a stormy marriage that ends, but, like a flower reborn in her freedom, she finds the worst in Sergio Giana, a great manipulator who deceives her twice. On November 2020 at 5.52pm Loredana was reported as a missing person, last seen with Giana. That day in Pietragrande, Giana stabbed Loredana 28 times, killing her, and then hid her body among the rocks and returned the next day to clean up the crime scene. Only 25 years to serve and not a life sentence, not even a year for each stab wound. In this historical moment, a punishment like this doesn’t scare anyone so “they” will always kill us.”
Loredana Scalone never returned home. The irreparable happened on that cliff.
Loredana was a mother, a sister and a worker who failed to understand how dangerous the human mind could become. “We women don’t need a day to be remembered – say some students – our isolation is brought about by our silence and it is strength instead of murderous”.
Female doctors also spoke at the conference Romina Ranieri And Gabriella Papa of the anti-violence centers who, addressing the young girls present, stated that in case of violence national guidelines must be followed to support women.
Dr. Papa begins like this: “Every little drop forms the ocean, we must help it and direct it to the right places such as anti-violence centers, furthermore it is also important to demonstrate to make your word heard beyond what is unleashed around us, we need to carry forward our belief, therefore language and communication are important at the base.”
“Gender violence and feminicides – add the girls – are a complex and structural phenomenon, which is particularly difficult to combat. This is a specific problem deeply rooted in patriarchal culture, which first of all requires a reversal of values to be addressed. We believe that school, the inclusion of women in the workplace, a greater sharing of family burdens, are the starting points to prevent it”.
A piece of advice at the end of the conference is the one given to the students by the teacher Elena Maida that is, to study to be independent from an economic and work point of view. The conference ended with the art exhibition set up by the students of the Giovanna De Nobili art high school, always relating to violence against women.