Where sex assault victims are shamed
The Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement that has followed in its wake have set off a global chain reaction, convulsing countries all over the world. In my home country of Italy, for example, more and more women are coming forward to accuse powerful men of sexual misconduct.
What’s different — and more disturbing for women everywhere — is that the Italian victims, unlike their American sisters, are rarely believed and often publicly shamed.
In the most recent controversy, last Sunday, 10 women accused director Fausto Brizzi of sexual harassment and, in one case, rape. They made the claims on “Le Iene,” a sensational but popular TV show — a kind of “TMZ”-“60 Minutes” hybrid.
In interviews where they lodged the accusations, most of the actresses had their faces pixelated and their voices altered to hide their identities; in only two cases was the face of the woman visible. One, Clarissa Marchese, a former Miss Italy, repeated the same charge to the newspaper La Repubblica.
Brizzi denies all the accusations.
Even though these women all told versions of the same story, citing the same details about Brizzi’s house, the public reaction has been largely suspicious. One of their main objections will sound very familiar to American women: If they were truly victimized, why didn’t the women go immediately to the police instead of waiting in some cases years to go public? (In Italy, the laws require a victim of sexual assault to report the crime within six months.)
All the young women explained that they feared they wouldn’t be believed — that it would have been the word of a nobody against the word of a famous director.
Other voices in the skeptical public dismiss the accusations because of the tabloidy show on which they were aired. On Tuesday night, Bruno Vespa, one of the most longstanding and influential Italian TV commentators, hosted a panel of guests defending Brizzi, with reasoning that ranged from “these women are only seeking publicity” to — and I am paraphrasing — “do we really want to ruin Italian cinema over a few sexual assault claims?”
So, in less than three days, the public debate has shifted from the offenses themselves to the problem of having trials by television instead of courts, with some victim-blaming on the side.
Perhaps the most telling sign of the difference in how victims are treated here and in Italy is the case of Asia Argento, one of the Weinstein accusers. While Argento’s account has been considered highly credible in American reports, in Italy her claims have been attacked and picked apart — primarily in conservative publications, but also by many respected journalists and public commentators.
As an Italian journalist living in the U.S., I can’t help but notice the enormous cultural gap in the way women are treated — how far and fast the dynamics around sexual harassment have changed here, and how Italy remains stuck in the same “he said, she said” trap Americans were stuck in 20 or 30 years ago.
Just consider: In the same day 10 women complained about Brizzi’s abuse, five came forward accusing Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore of long-ago misconduct. They were instantly taken seriously, and, not long after, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said definitively, “I believe the women.” This is the latest sign that now in the U.S. “she said” will trump “he said,” especially when it is not just one “she,” but five, 10 or 12.
In Italy, “she said” becomes “she is looking for publicity,” even when the women decide to not show their face.
Why is this? In Italy, where very few women sit on corporate boards and not one runs a major newspaper, the legacy of patriarchy remains strong. The word of a woman counts for considerably less, especially if she challenges a man of power.
The fact that Italy is a relatively small country, and that especially in show business everyone knows everyone, does not help: Like in a little village, you don’t want to upset people you may end up wanting a favor from in the future. Brizzi also has powerful friends; former Italian Prime Minster Matteo Renzi is one of them.
The only way this dynamic is going to change in my country and others like it is for the women who do have some political and cultural clout to swim against the tide and speak out. Maybe if they show their faces, the many women who have suffered harassment and rape will no longer have to hide theirs.