The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered the Italian state to pay approximately €60,000 (£51,000) in compensation to Audrey Ubeda, a French citizen whose allegations of repeated rape by her partner were dismissed by an Italian prosecutor as 'normal' for men who struggle to overcome resistance from 'tired' women.
Court Ruling on Sexist Stereotypes
The court ruled that the prosecutor's remarks perpetuated 'sexist stereotypes' and downplayed gender violence, resulting in further victimisation of Ubeda. The ECHR also found that the prosecutor—and by extension the Italian justice system—failed to provide a prompt, thorough, and effective investigation as required in domestic abuse cases.
Ubeda expressed shock upon learning that the prosecutor was a woman. The ruling did not specify the prosecutor's gender, but Ubeda has spoken publicly about her disbelief.
Case Background
The case dates to April 2021, when Ubeda, living with her Italian partner in the Avellino area of southern Italy, filed a police complaint alleging physical and mental abuse against herself and their two children. She claimed he raped her multiple times and held a knife to her throat in front of two witnesses, implying her case would end up like other femicides in the news.
Later that year, the prosecutor requested the case be dismissed, referring to the knife incident as 'a bad joke' and stating that physical violence toward the children was merely disciplinary and within parental authority. The prosecutor argued it was difficult to establish rape because the man might not have been aware of the lack of consent, 'considering that it is normal for men to have to overcome a minimum level of resistance that every woman tends to display when she is tired from daily life and a man makes a sexual advance.'
Outcome and Impact
The dismissal request was denied, and a new prosecutor was assigned. The accused man stood trial and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison by a court of first instance; he remains free pending appeal.
The ECHR ordered Italy to pay roughly €60,000 to Ubeda and her two children, who lived in a shelter for three years. The court ruled that authorities violated the 'prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment' towards domestic violence victims, including failing to assign a family home or authorise their move to France.
Ubeda told Italian media the ruling was 'a vindication' and 'a victory for all women.' She told La Repubblica: 'When my lawyer explained that a magistrate had exonerated my ex by invoking the image of a man who must overcome a woman's resistance to have sex, I felt wounded all over again. I was shocked to then learn that those words had come from a female prosecutor.'
