Discorsi di genere: perché il femminicidio di Giulia Cecchettin continua a mettere in discussione i confini tra violenza pubblica e privata contro le donn

Abstract

The article frames the topic of male violence against women as a moment of questioning the boundaries between the private space and the public sphere. It examines the femicide of Giulia Cecchettin, who was killed on 11 November 2023 at the hands of her ex-boyfriend Filippo Turetta. The first part of the analysis focuses on the communicative strategies adopted by the mainstream media through the theory of episodic framing: it traces femicide back to violent interpersonal relationships, rather than interpreting it as a structural problem. The methodological approach consists of a dual analysis of the relevant literature and secondary sources, such as articles published in various newspapers of different political orientations and local and national levels. The second part of the article focuses on the changes that followed this case by first investigating the factual response (bottom-up) and then the institutional counter-reaction (top-down). In the first case, the focus will be on the demands voiced in both physical and virtual public spaces – where Elena Cecchettin, sister of Giulia, emerged as the most prominent spokesperson – calling for a preventive approach to addressing male violence against women, understanding it as a public, collective, and structural issue. This event moved the discussion beyond the rhetoric of vulnerable subjects and the privileging of the unsuspected individual, opening up a broader theoretical and political analysis of the issues inherently linked to its causes and consequences. The second case concerns the political response, which was insufficient, punitive and failed to address the root of the problem found in heteropatriarchy. Patriarchy is a complex and harmful structure that amplifies inequalities and generates violence, which is, however, merely the result of a more intricate issue.

Keywords: Femicide, male violence, media, patriarchy, vulnerability