Club of Prato, Italy
According to the World Bank every day, 41,000 girls marry before they are 18 years old. That’s 15 million girls every year[1]. While child marriage can happen to both boys and girls, in most places around the world, the practice mostly affects girls.
In Italy, and more specifically in Prato, the Soroptimists have noticed that the phenomenon is growing. An important awareness-raising work is therefore more than necessary!
They organised a virtual online meeting to which various key people contributed (lawyers, experts on women’s issues, psychologists, etc.), in order to provide knowledge, share experiences and hear the voices of victims.
The criminal lawyer Gaetano Pacchi, (also artistic director of the theatre company “Attori & Convenuti”), who has been dealing for years with the thematic of violence against vulnerable groups, and Dr. Alessandra Chiavegatti, magistrate and poet, have brought their testimonies for interviewing the victims so that they could feel in confidence to share their experiences.
An analysis of the traumatic consequences and further insights from “Senza veli sulla lingua” and “Pamat and La Nara”, two local associations that joined the meeting, has completed the image of this horrible reality that combines the exploitation of women and the violation of minors.
The Mayor of Prato, Matteo Biffoni and the Councillor for Equal Opportunities of the City of Prato, Ilaria Santi, honoured the Soroptimists of Prato with their presence.
[1] https://www.undispatch.com/every-day-41000-girls-married-age-18-new-world-bank-report-shows-economic-impact-problem/