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The Guardian
03-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Murders of two female students prompt calls for a ‘cultural rebellion' in Italy
There have been calls in Italy for a 'cultural rebellion' amid outrage and protests over the murders of two female students within 48 hours of each other, bringing the number of femicides in the country since the start of the year to 11. Sara Campanella, a 22-year-old biomedical student, was stabbed in broad daylight at a bus stop in the Sicilian city of Messina on Monday afternoon and died while being taken to hospital. Stefano Argentino, a fellow student at the University of Messina, was later arrested in the town of Noto. His lawyer, Raffaele Leone, told the Italian press that Argentino, 27, had confessed to the murder. Messina prosecutor, Antonio D'Amato, claimed Argentino had 'insistently and repeatedly' harassed Campanella since she started her university course two years ago. In a separate killing, the body of 22-year-old Ilaria Sula, a statistics student at Rome's Sapienza university, was found in a suitcase in a forested area outside the Italian capital early on Wednesday morning. She had been missing since 23 March and was allegedly stabbed to death. Her former boyfriend, Mark Samson, 23, is being questioned by police on suspicion of her murder and hiding a body. The murders sparked protests in Messina, Rome and other Italian cities, including Bologna, on Wednesday night. Further events are planned on Thursday. Antonella Polimeni, rector of Sapienza university, said Sula's death was an 'atrocious and brutal femicide that leaves us speechless and heartbroken'. She added: 'We must no longer stand by and watch femicide incidents.' A minute of silence was held for Campanella at the University of Messina. Giovanna Spatari, the university's rector, said students were 'dismayed by this umpteenth episode of femicide'. The killings have also renewed political debate on violence against women in Italy, where there were 113 femicides in 2024, of which 99 were committed by relatives, partners or ex-partners. Mara Carfagna, party secretary for the centre-right Noi Moderati, called for a 'cultural rebellion'. 'From a regulatory point of view, Italy is more advanced than other countries, but culturally we haven't managed to evolve at the same speed,' she told La Stampa newspaper. 'For this we need a rebellion shared by everyone.' In March, Giorgia Meloni's government approved a draft law which for the first time introduced a legal definition of femicide in criminal law, punishing it with life in prison while increasing sentences for crimes including stalking, sexual violence and 'revenge porn'. The law followed the strong public reaction to the killing of Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old student who was murdered by her former boyfriend, Filippo Turetta, in November 2023. Turetta was sentenced to life in prison in December. A group of MPs with the opposition Democratic party argued that an 'incisive action of prevention' is now needed to stop this 'continuous slaughter of women,' starting with education in schools.
BBC News
02-04-2025
- BBC News
Young Sicilian woman killed in broad daylight by stalker
The murder of a young Sicilian woman by a stalker in broad daylight has sent shockwaves across Italy, where 11 women have been killed since the start of the student Sara Campanella, 22, was killed by an acquaintance on Monday afternoon in the Sicilian city of told media that they saw a man - later identified by prosecutors as 27-year-old Stefano Argentino - walk up to Ms Campanella and stab her on the street. She tried to get away and screamed "Stop it, let me go, stop it," before collapsing, they said.A passer-by who reportedly heard Ms Campanella's screams tried to chase the attacker, who managed to flee. Ms Campanella died on her way to the hospital. Mr Argentino was arrested a few hours later in the nearby town of Leone, Mr Argentino's lawyer, told Italian media on Wednesday that his client had admitted the charges against him, but had not explained why he had attacked her. "I can't say if he's remorseful, he's quite closed up," Mr Leone was quoted by Ansa news agency as Messina prosecutor, Antonio D'Amato, said that Stefano Argentino had "insistently and repeatedly" harassed Sara Campanella since she started university two years ago. She was studying to become a biomedical of her friends once had to intervene when Mr Argentino kept complaining that Ms Campanella no longer smiled at him, Mr D'Amato said. But he added that Ms Campanella never went to the police as she did not feel that Mr Argentino's attentions were particularly "threatening or pathological".In the police detention order quoted by Italian media, prosecutors said that Mr Argentino had been "regularly pestering the victim, asking her to go out with him and get to know each other better, and refusing to back down even when she would turn him down".Mr D'Amato said that, shortly before being stabbed, Ms Campanella sent a message to some friends, telling them that "that sick guy is following me".Writing on Facebook, Ms Campanella's mother said that her daughter "bravely thought her 'No' would be enough because [Stefano Argentino] meant nothing to her, they weren't together, she just wanted him to leave her alone, she wanted to live and dream and graduate."You always need to speak up and go to the police! Help me give Sara a voice," she an emotional interview to Italian TV, Ms Campanella's brother said that unrequited love or attention could never be a reason for "act like this one"."There are no justifications, and someone like him doesn't even deserve words."The father of Giulia Cecchettin, who was also 22 when she was killed by her ex-boyfriend, told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that there are "entire generations of men who don't accept rejection"."Love is not possession, jealousy is not love, and saying 'No' is a right. In Sara's case there hadn't even been a relationship," Mr Cecchettin said."Women continue to be killed by those who don't accept their rejection. We need to make an extraordinary effort, a collective act of rebellion... against this culture of death," said Mara Carfagna, a former minister and issue of violence against women is keenly felt in Italy, where femicides are frequently reported by the media. Last month alone, four women died at the hands of their partners or ex-partners. On Wednesday, less than 48 hours after her death, Sara Campanella's murder was pushed out of the headlines by news that the body of 22-year-old Ilaria Sula had been found in a suitcase in university student had gone missing last week. According to Italian media, her ex-boyfriend has confessed to her murder.
