ROME, December 11 – A disturbing ‘rape list’ has surfaced in a student bathroom on the third floor of Carducci High School, located on Via Asmara in Rome’s African quarter. This incident mirrors a similar occurrence at Giulio Cesare High School just weeks prior, raising serious concerns about gender-based violence within educational institutions.
Names of Students Initially Included and Later Erased
According to the Students’ Network, two separate messages were found, one of which initially contained the names of two female students. These names were later deliberately erased with a marker by the same individuals responsible for the list’s creation.
“This is not the first time that such incidents have occurred at Carducci,” stated a representative from the Students’ Network. They highlighted a broader pattern of problematic behavior, including instances where “some teachers within classrooms take positions against abortion and women’s professional emancipation.” Furthermore, the network reported that “students allow themselves to use heavily derogatory, misogynistic insults against female students, attacking their bodies and sexuality.”
Students Condemn Gender-Based Violence and Demand Change
The collective Asmara, a student group, strongly condemned the incident. “Once again, gender violence is mocked, denigrated, or even worse, glorified,” they asserted. “These are not childish pranks, but symptoms of a patriarchal and macho society in which so-called ‘good boys’ are born, grow up, and settle in.”
Bianca Piergentili, coordinator of the Lazio chapter of the Students’ Network, voiced the collective’s frustration: “We are tired of being reduced to a list on a wall, as a form of joke or threat.” She emphasized the urgent need for action, adding, “We demand change, and we want it to be real and imminent.”
Criticism Directed at Institutions for Lack of Action
Piergentili also criticized the institutional response to such incidents. “The minister talks about punishing the culprits, a ‘manhunt’ begins, but everyone is guilty, primarily the institutions that abandon us, deny us the need to establish sex-affective education and consent within our schools, and blame imaginary enemies rather than admitting a real and social problem,” she concluded.
The incident at Carducci High School underscores a growing concern among students and activists regarding the prevalence of gender-based violence and misogynistic attitudes within schools. It highlights the urgent need for comprehensive educational programs on consent and gender equality, as well as a more robust institutional response to address and prevent such occurrences.
The local police have been alerted to the incident, and an investigation is expected to follow. Further details regarding the perpetrators and the extent of the investigation are yet to be released. The school administration has not yet issued an official statement regarding the incident, but students are calling for immediate and decisive action to ensure the safety and well-being of all students.
