The allegations –
Many of the girls are barmaids and waitresses – in some cases young or very young – employed these days on a large scale to allow bars and restaurants to have a breath of fresh air after two years of income conditioned by the pandemic. “We started to collect and share their testimonies and the response was very high – the activists of Not one less – as shocking as it is in the number and intensity of harassment received.
Whistles, cat-calling, threats
and outright harassment
they hit several people guilty only of wanting to live in their own city. Harassment disguised as student spirit and tradition which in reality are the children of a patriarchal culture that wants women, trans and gender non conforming subject to power and fear, to blackmail and threats in case of refusal “.
The National Alpine Association
defends himself
– “It is clear that if there are limited and detailed complaints we will take action, but at the moment there are no results”. Thus the president of the National Alpine Association, Sebastiano Favero. In a note, Ana had already stigmatized these episodes, stressing that no complaint had been made to the police. Furthermore – reads the note – when hundreds of thousands of people gather in a single location to celebrate, it is almost physiological that episodes of rudeness may occur, which, however, certainly cannot invalidate the value of the messages of peace, brotherhood, solidarity and love for the homeland that have been conveyed for over a century by the Gathering “. A position that has created even more anger from the girls who have suffered harassment, often inspired by the massive consumption of alcohol, despite the invitation of the National Association not to” generalize “. In fact, the note points out that” there are hundreds, if not thousands, of young people who, although not Alpine, take advantage of the situation: to mix with the big party, it is enough to buy an Alpine hat, even if it is not original. , on any stall “.
The testimony of a bartender –
“What I suffered from the Alpini is demeaning for every woman. An Alpine tried to lick me on the mouth while I was taking an order at the table. One mimicked a sexual act while I was turning to clear away” says a girl employed in a bar. The testimonies of this tenor, say a Not One Less, there are many, but it is complicated, by their nature, to formalize them in a complaint to be presented to the competent authorities. It is not excluded, however, that in the next few hours the most serious episodes will be collected and reported. Even if identifying those responsible will be almost impossible.
The reaction of the Minister of Defense –
“The behaviors reported by some women are very serious. Episodes that certainly must be ascertained by the competent bodies, but which cannot and must not be underestimated. Episodes, I want to reiterate forcefully, which would be the opposite of the values of the Alpine troops and of an event that it is a celebration of solidarity, principles and beautiful traditions “. Thus the Minister of Defense,
Lorenzo Guerini,
on reported cases of violence. “It is wrong – he adds – to make generalizations, but at the same time there must be no tolerance: harassment and violence must never and in no case find any justification and must be condemned without hesitation”.
–
