Franca Viola: Fearless Woman Who Refused to Marry Her Rapist
Article 544 of Italy's Rocco code, which was developed under a fascist regime, an accusation of sexual violence would lapse if the perpetrator married his victim.
Two days later, Melodia and his gang of goons stormed into the Viola family farmhouse and kidnapped Franca. They took her to a remote farmhouse where Melodia raped Franca repeatedly. He told her later that she would have to marry him to prevent "dishonor" to her family.
Franca was released and, as expected, Melodia offered Viola a matrimonio riparatore to restore her honor and that of her family. Unexpectedly, Franca refused. Not only that, but with the firm support of her family and friends, she pressed charges against her attacker in court for kidnapping, carnal violence, and intimidation.
Franca Viola was the first woman to ever reject a "reparatory marriage" in public, creating serious repercussions for her and her family. She was labeled as a donna svergognata, or a woman without honor. Her family received death threats; their vineyards and cottage were burned.
A mural by Nbla and Zibe reproduces the face of Franca Viola
Franca Viola Wins the Battle
The trial was a sensation in Sicily and around the world. It triggered uncomfortable debates among the populace, with people questioning the archaic systems that were so unfair to women. Crowds flocked to debates about the trial, which was also covered by The New York Times with the abject headline “No Admirers Call On Sicily’s Franca.”
Melodia’s lawyers tried every trick in the book, from maligning Franca’s character as a "willing" participant in the crime to buying and threatening witnesses with money and violence. Viola continued her fight with quiet dignity, saying, “I will marry the man I love.”
Newspaper reports would eventually describe her as heroic and her firm resolution transformed her into a feminist icon. Initially, however, local press outlets called her a "spinster" and suggested she was bucking tradition.
In May 1967, Melodia was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Seven of his accomplices received four-year sentences. Melodia was released from prison in 1976 and banished from Sicily. Two years later, he was murdered in Modena.
The "reparatory marriage" article of the Italian legal code survived for another decade but was formally dissolved in 1981, due in no small part to changes in public discourse after Franca Viola's trial.
In 2014, she was awarded the title of Grande Ufficiale dell’Ordine al Merito Della Repubblica by Italian president Giorgio Napolitano in a public ceremony to mark International Women’s Day.
Today, she resides in Sicily with her husband, two sons, and grandchildren. She is an international icon for women’s rights whose resistance to her nation's institutionalized rape culture liberated countless other women. Girls growing up in Italy now have the freedom to choose the course of their own lives and say "no" without fear of threats and shame.
https://thecrimewire.com/multifarious/Franca-Viola-the-Fearless-Woman-Who-Refused-to-Marry-Her-Rapist
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