A reflection on gender-based violence

Why can gender-based violence be considered torture? And what are the consequences this has on the law? Students of the School of International Studies of the University of Trento have provided answers to the first of three questions asked by the association DiRe – Donne in Rete. The other questions focused on restorative justice and victim protection measures.
The students prepared a ninety-page well-substantiated report, with references to the legal systems of various countries of the world, to provide an overview of gender-based violence and actions to address it. The report was commissioned by DiRe, an Italian network of 87 women's organizations that manage 106 help centres and 62 shelters. These organizations helped about 21,000 women last year, with almost 3,000 activists working all over Italy.
The report, entitled "Legal Opinions on Gender-Based Violence by the Students of the School of International Studies", contains the three legal opinions written by the students to address the phenomenon in more detail. The opinions, in fact, provide the association with useful ideas for possible actions to be taken in light of the possibility of classifying gender-based violence as torture, the opportunity to resort to restorative justice programmes, such as family mediation, in cases of violence against women, and the effectiveness of temporary protection measures, from the electronic tag to the reception of victims in safe shelters.
The legal opinions are the result of the challenge-based learning approach, funded by the University of Trento, which involved the students of the course held by Marco Pertile, professor of International Law, with tutor Giulia Cagol, PhD student of Comparative and European Legal Studies, in collaboration with the association DiRe – Donne in Rete.
The results of the project were presented today on the occasion of the visit of Antonella Veltri, president or DiRe, and a number of the association's women lawyers, to the University of Trento. The association has praised the report of the students and decided to share the legal opinions with other people and organizations as a useful instrument to combat gender-based violence.
Women in International Affairs 2024
The discussion on gender-based violence will continue until 28 March with the event organized by the School of International Studies as part of "Women in International Affairs 2024" in the framework of the UniCittà memorandum of understanding between the City of Trento and the University of Trento. The event is open to the university and city community.
The seminar series started today with Antonella Veltri.
Upcoming events are:
Thursday 7 March at 5.30 pm at Palazzo Geremia: a discussion table on the role of women in international affairs. Tuesday 12 March at 2.15 pm at Palazzo Prodi: conference "A Critical Assessment of the Women-Peace-Security Agenda" (in English).
Thursday 21 March at 5.30 pm at Palazzo Prodi: the presentation of the book "Portraits of Women in International Law. New Names and Forgotten Faces?” (in English).
Thursday 28 March at 5.30 pm at Palazzo Geremia: meet Emanuela Del Re, European Union Special Representative for the Sahel and former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.