Sexual violence: putting an end to prejudices against escorts who are not considered credible
The notion of the ‘model victim’ has been criticised: it is the result of a moral and cultural approach stemming from the prejudices of those tasked with assessing their account
Key points
A woman who was inclined to have sexual relations even in exchange for trivial gifts. So much so that, on the day before the assault took place and on the evening of the assault itself, she had sexual relations with different men. Behaviour which, in the view of the defendant’s defence team, rendered the girl’s account of the sexual assault implausible. Her relaxed attitude towards sex, on the other hand, lent credence to the argument that ‘a normal and genuine consensual sexual encounter took place between the defendant and the victim following a night of New Year’s Eve celebrations’.
The Court of Cassation rejects the argument put forward by the defendant’s counsel, Carlo Taormina, and is compelled to reiterate that violence must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, according to the facts, without the judgement being influenced in any way by the sexual behaviour – however casual – of the person reporting the rape.
Working as an escort
The defence’s argument is therefore rejected; this argument not only sought to highlight, in order to cast doubt on its credibility, the complainant’s work as an escort – who would even make herself available ‘for a dinner’ – had also cast doubt on the physical coercion due to the absence of marks and the circumstances of the incident, which had taken place in the supermarket car park without anyone hearing any screams. Finally, the decision not to report the incident immediately, but only the following day, was also interpreted as a fear of being accused of slander.
These are exceptions that the Court of Cassation easily overcomes. Rape can be committed violently even without leaving any marks. As for the absence of witnesses, the assault took place late in the evening outside the supermarket just as it was closing, and it was therefore plausible that no one had heard the screams. Immediately after the incident, the woman had met an acquaintance, to whom she had recounted what had happened and, in a fit of despair, had asked to be taken home. The following day, partly at her friend’s urging, she reported the incident to the police, increasingly convinced that her attacker must be punished.
The Supreme Court focuses on the pairing of promiscuous woman equalsuntrustworthy woman.
