Affective education and listening centres to work on prevention

Bad example and lack of attention. According to Carla Garlatti, guarantor authority for childhood and adolescence, this is where the constant increase in sexual offences among young people originates. According to the report produced by the guarantor authority together with the criminal analysis service of the public security department, 33% of young people say they are subjected to possessive attitudes by their partner and, among these, 66% of girls confess to being pressurised about their clothing.

'The crime committed by a minor,' Garlatti points out, 'is always the culmination of a series of educational failures committed at all levels: family, school and institutions. More than 90 per cent of cases of gender-based violence occur in the family and it is obvious that those who grow up in such a context will tend to repeat it'. Institutions also play an important role in this, since according to Garlatti there is 'an increasing level of violence in public dialogue and young people who breathe this climate will react with the same aggressiveness'. The guarantor also accuses the institutions of having paid very little attention to the problem so far. 'Suffice it to think,' Garlatti explains, 'that in cases of witnessing violence for a long time the child was not even considered a victim.

Another aspect on which our country is lagging behind is the introduction of affectivity education as a school subject. 'When, four years ago, I spoke about it for the first time,' she recalls, 'during an interview I was not even taken seriously. Today at least we are starting to talk about it'. In fact, the day after Giulia Cecchettin's murder, Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara announced the introduction of 30 optional hours in schools to educate young people about relationships, also providing for an investment of 15 million euro. A project, according to the guarantor, doomed to failure. 'A few hours outside school hours on a voluntary basis do not make sense. On 7 September, however, the decree on the guidelines for the teaching of civic education was signed: 33 compulsory hours within which there should also be affectivity education. It is not known exactly how it will be treated or how much space it will be given, but I hope it will be adequate'.

The guarantor also wants the commission on feminicide to deal with prevention with ad hoc measures. "Adolescents live a special phase of life and actions tailored to them are needed, such as, for example, dedicated listening centres and self-assessment questionnaires to help girls become aware that they are victims. These are proposals that I have also sent to Council President Meloni'. Little is also being done on the issue of orphans of feminicide, an emergency on which there are still no precise estimates.

"The project of an observatory to quantify the real number of orphans will be presented,' Garlatti announces. But clarity is also needed as to why so few apply for the funds that allow benefits such as covering medical expenses. These funds remain unused even though we know that the families who take in orphans are actually in great need of them,' Garlatti concludes.