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Full-Text Articles in Law
Renaissance Redux? Chastity And Punishment In Italian Rape Law, Rachel A. Van Cleave
Renaissance Redux? Chastity And Punishment In Italian Rape Law, Rachel A. Van Cleave
Publications
This essay examines an Italian sexual assault case that received significant media attention. The Corte d'appello of Cagliari concluded that the defendant was not entitled to a reduced sentence when he was convicted of sexually assaulting his fourteen-year-old stepdaughter. On review, the Third Section of Italy's Corte diCassazione held that the lower court's refusal was erroneous. Cassazione faulted the appellate court for failing to consider that the victim had already engaged in sexual activity with others. This case illustrates how changing rape laws on the books does not always bring about immediate change in attitudes. Indeed, notions of chastity and …
The Double Weakness Of Girls: Discrimination And Sexual Violence In Haiti, Benedetta Faedi Duramy
The Double Weakness Of Girls: Discrimination And Sexual Violence In Haiti, Benedetta Faedi Duramy
Publications
This Note is about poverty, inequality, and sexual violence. Using empirical research, it explores cultural beliefs, practices of abuse, and criminal justice responses to the widespread and systematic rape affecting girls in the shantytowns of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Dominated by the vestiges of the French colonization and plagued by destitution and political instability, Haiti faces rampant violence and disarray leaving the majority of its population in unbearable conditions of despair. Often regarded as a pariah state by the international community and erratically supported or invaded by foreign players, Haiti remains a forgotten country despoiled by human rights violations, decadence, and turmoil.