Woman describes 'ordeal' after ECHR reverses Italy 'sexist verdict'

A woman who was awarded damages after

the European Court of Human Rights quashed what it called a

"sexist and stereotypical" verdict" acquitting her sexually

abusive husband because "it's normal for a man to overcome a

woman's resistance" before sex told an Italian daily Monday that

she had been through an "ordeal" since she reported the domestic

rape in 2021.

"Justice has finally been done. It doesn't seem real after so

long. I went through an ordeal," Audrey Ubeda, now 42, said in

an interview with la Repubblica, after the ECHR ruled in her

favour, ordering Italy to compensate her and her children for

the dismissal of the case by a female prosecutor from the

Benevento prosecutor's office, despite the sexual assaults she

suffered from her husband.

"It's normal for a man to have to overcome a minimum of

resistance from a woman," were the magistrate's words.

"A hateful argument, which I opposed," said Ubeda, born In Frace

to a Spanish father and Campanian mother and resident near

Avellino south of Naples for years.

"That prosecutor had neither seen nor heard me. Luckily, I met

another prosecutor who saw the story differently."

Ubeda then talked about her ultimately successful custody battle

for her children:

"It took a good three and a half years, during which I lived

with the children in a protected home.

"My ex-husband is at liberty. Without a precautionary measure, a

stay-at-home order," she added.

"I could find him on my doorstep tomorrow and I can't say

anything."

For Ubeda, the Strasbourg Court's ruling is "a turning point, a

new beginning, a resurgence," as she also stated in the pages of

another Italian daily, Quotidiano Nazionale.

"I now feel like a phoenix rising from its ashes. But the

greatest satisfaction isn't personal: it's having won a battle

on behalf of all women so that an absurd case like mine never

happens again," Ubeda concluded.

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