Two Women MP's Apply to ECHR to Condemn Berlusconi's Sexism

Anna Paola Concia, Italian MP of main opposition Democratic Party, and Donata Gottardi member of European Parliament of European Socialist Party denounced Silvio Berlusconi for his ongoing and frequent declarations “against life and dignity of the women”.  

In March 2008 during his electoral campaign Berlusconi said to a young unemployed girl "to marry his billionaire son to solve her economic problems". In January, during a speech in Sardinian city of Sassari he said “to avoid rapes, it  would require to assign a soldier for every good-looking Italian woman”. In February he said that, Eluana Englaro, a girl in coma for 17 years could still become a mother, and again in February during an international meeting with Sarkozy he told him: “I gave you your woman”. 

The two Italian MPs decided to apply to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg; claiming that Berlusconi  violated articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights and insulted Italian women.  

Anna Paola Concia spoke to bianet about her reaction and the civil rights situation in Italy. 

In the last months Berlusconi about every week did strong jokes about Italian women, sometimes after particularly tragic situations like the rape of a young woman in Rome, should we regard those just as normal jokes or something more revealing?

A Prime Minister does not make jokes. These violent sentences against Italian women are considered as gaffes just in Italy, no-other European prime minister would speak like that. 

Then you decided to denounce Silvio Berlusconi to European Court for Human Rights, when you decide to do so, and why the European Court and not an Italian court? 

We applied to European Court because in Italy the Prime Minister can not be put under trial due to political immunity guaranteed by a new Italian law called Lodo Alfano. But the reason is mainly cultural; we want Europe, which is really careful about fight against discriminations and woman rights, to support us in this fight. 

So the case has mainly a symbolic meaning, isn’t it? 

No, it not just a symbolic gesture, it is a true denounciation, but we want it to be a strong message: in our country the Prime Minister is constantly insulting the women as males’ property debasing their role as citizens, his messages and declarations widen contempt against women.  

What will happen if the European Court would condemns Silvio Berlusconi? 

We think there will be a formal reproach from the Court, but we don’t know yet what could happen. 

It seems Italy falls behind regarding Civil Rights compared with the most majority of European countries, what do you think is the reason of that? 

We are a regressing country, Italian political parties, all of them, are responsible for that situation, instead of giving more rights in our country full citizenship spaces get everyday smaller, this is really dangerous, and society is regressing because politics and institutions don’t give any answer to people problems. 

So Democratic Party too has his responsibilities? 

Any party is investing on new citizenship subjects like migrants or homosexuals; it isn’t a priority for anybody. I am fighting inside Democratic Party to change this culture, I am the only declared homosexual in the Italian Parliament, I am 1 on 1000. (AT/EÜ)