A judge has sparked outrage in Italy after clearing a man of raping a woman on a hospital bed – because she didn’t scream.
The alleged attacker, 46, walked free from court in Turin, northern Italy, after the judge questioned why the woman did not call out for help.
Although she said ‘enough!’ to the former colleague accused of raping her, the court ruled that this constituted too weak a reaction to prove that she was sexually attacked.
Judge Diamante Minucci said: ‘There was no crying, no screaming. You didn’t push him away. We have to ask why?’
Lawyers representing the alleged victim insist the woman’s silence represented her ‘painful situation’ rather than proof she had not been attacked.
The court ruling, which specified she did not scream or ask for help, has sparked anger among women’s rights groups across Italy.
Officials have been asked to look into the case and justice minister Andrea Orlando has ordered an investigation.
Forza Italia opposition MP Annagrazia Calabria decried the ruling, saying: ‘Certainly, you cannot punish the personal reaction of a woman terrified by what is happening to her.’
The acquitted defendant had never denied contact with the woman but insisted it was consensual, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4345100/Man-Italy-cleared-rape-v…
