Once upon a time, and unfortunately not so long ago, what was officially called a shotgun wedding . A full-blown celebration that served to cover up the most violent and petty crime that belongs to human society, that of rape.
Provided in the penal code of our judicial system, the shotgun marriage was used to stop the rape that took place against the victims, which then became a real crime only in 1994. Emblematic and unforgettable is the case of Franca Viola who, after being raped at just 17 by her ex-boyfriend, I refuse the shotgun wedding. A courageous act in times when women’s freedom was still too limited.What was the shotgun wedding
To understand the story of the shotgun wedding we must take a leap into the past, in a time still too close to the modern one that makes one shudder for the cruelty and ignorance that belonged to society. The penal code of our legal system, in fact, contained within it a cursed article which was nothing more than a full-blown sentence for all the women of our country.
Article 544 legitimized a double violence: “For the crimes envisaged by the first chapter and by article 530, the marriage that the author of the crime contracts with the injured person extinguishes the crime, also with regard to those who have competed in the crime itself; and, if there has been a conviction, the execution and the penal effects cease ”.
Without mincing words and pleasantries of various kinds, the article spoke clearly: the crime of rape could easily be extinguished by giving the executioner a way out . In fact, it was enough only for the latter to declare his willingness to marry his victim, even if he was a minor.
And the worst of all this surreal situation was that very often it was the victim’s family who pushed and reached for the shotgun marriage, only to restore the lost honor. Yes, because to be ashamed of what had happened, it was not the criminal and the coward who had committed this atrocity. No, the victim went to the pillory who, after having lived hell on earth, was destined for a double violence, physical and moral, and a life to be shared with her executioner. Franca Viola
In a retrograde and extremely male-dominated society, the will of women, already suffocated by prejudices and stereotypes, was not taken into consideration. Her body was then treated as an objectthat whoever broke paid by taking what was left of it. And the shotgun wedding is a case in point.
A man could therefore kidnap a woman, keep her segregated and rape her several times to then wait for the wedding celebration that would have resolved everything. Despite the riots and battles of women’s movements that required a major overhaul of the Italian legal system of the times, the revolution came at the hands of a young woman whom we still have the right and duty to thank today.
When Franca Viola decided to refuse the shotgun wedding she was the forerunner to many other girls in our country who followed her example: no longer was willing to be raped twice .
Franca ViolaThe aberrant conditions of the woman
That of the shotgun marriage, however, was not the only aberrant condition that concerned those times. The honor killing, in fact, offered a mitigation to all the men who committed murder against the women of the family . Regulated by article 587, it provided for more attenuated penalties for crimes of murder and personal injury committed to defend honor.
Men who killed spouses, daughters and sisters “in the act in which he discovers their illegitimate carnal relationship and in the state of anger caused by the offense against his or her family’s honor” had a decidedly more lenient penalty, justified by the fact that their honor had been offended. Rape as a crime for public morality
Even when the shotgun marriage rule was repealed, the situation was still controversial and to the detriment of women. Sexual violence, in fact, was not to be considered a crime against the person as the injured party was only public morality and not the woman’s body.
The rules concerning shotgun marriage and honor killing were part of the Rocco Code established in the Fascist period. It is precisely this that based the entire judicial system on the patriarchal system of those years: the man was the father and the master, an undisputed leader, while the woman was destined for housework and procreation.
Taking this picture into consideration, it is not so difficult to understand why sexual abuse was not considered a crime against the person, however disconcerting and absurd it seems to us today. The truth is that the woman had no freedom, not even sexual, for this reason the victims were subjected to further violence during the trials: the jury did everything to exasperate them and emphasize their provocative ability, even if nonexistent.
This is demonstrated by the fact that rape was recognized as such only if there was a clear, deep and demonstrable penetration, which is why women were harassed with absurd questions and, at worst, the crime was considered a simple act. of lust. The situation today
The provisions on honor killing and shotgun marriage are repealed by law no. 442 of 5 August 1981, after the referendum on divorce and the reform of family law. But something that is based on a war that shouldn’t have existed can be called victory.
That of gender differences, stereotypes and patriarchy, the one that has seen women submissive and deprived of their human dignity for too long .
And the saddest thing is that modern times show us that, in the collective imagination, some beliefs are still too deeply rooted in this society that declares itself to be emancipated, but which then subtly, moved by cultural heritage, always tends to point the finger.
Because a woman can be too provocative, have tight pants or a very deep neckline, and therefore inevitably arouse the interest of the man who almost – and it is horrifying even to write it – could be legitimized or excused for yet another act of violence .
This is why it is necessary to remember the past made up of pain and struggles, this is why it is right to warn the new generations so that the rights of women are preserved, to defend the present and improve the future. The road traveled up to now is certain and long, but there are still many steps to be taken.
