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Rape And The Querela In Italy: False Protection Of Victim Agency, Rachel A. Van Cleave
Rape And The Querela In Italy: False Protection Of Victim Agency, Rachel A. Van Cleave
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Italian law requires rape victims to make a formal request that the state prosecute the alleged rapist. This request is called a querela and without such a request prosecution does not proceed, though there are some exceptions. In addition, the request for prosecution is irrevocable; the victim cannot withdraw her request for prosecution. Italian law has included the querela requirement for over one hundred years. It was included in the Zanardelli Code of 1889,3 the first Penal Code of unified Italy, maintained in the Rocco Code of 1930, the Penal Code of Fascist Italy, and-after a great deal of controversy-the …