On Thursday night, the southern Italian city of Foggia was rocked by a brutal femicide. A 46-year-old woman of Moroccan origin was killed with several stab wounds in an alleyway in the old town, just a few steps away from her apartment. Her ex-partner, also of Moroccan origin, was arrested shortly afterwards in Rome - he was still wearing bloodstained clothing.
The crime highlights the failure of protective measures. The woman had reported her ex-partner for stalking after a relationship that lasted only a few months and was characterized by threats and obsessive behaviour from the outset. Protection proceedings were then initiated under the "Codice Rosso", an Italian protocol for accelerating measures in cases of gender-based violence. In May, the man was issued with a no-proximity order and an electronic ankle bracelet.
However, as the Foggia public prosecutor's office admitted, the ankle bracelet was never put on for "technical reasons". In July, the measure was tightened and a pre-trial detention order was issued. However, this could not be enforced as the homeless man was considered untraceable.
The anti-violence center "Telefono Donna", which the victim had contacted in April, also classified the danger as "high". However, the woman had refused to leave the city. On the night of the crime, she apparently managed to alert the police, but all help came too late for her.
