Andrea Giambruno, a journalist and partner of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was criticized Tuesday for advising young women not to drink to avoid being raped on television.
Giambruno spoke live during the current affairs program that he presents on Mondays on Rete4, owned by the Mediaset group, of the Berlusconi family, and one of the largest private channels in the country.
Along with other guests, he spoke of the various cases of sexual violence that have rocked Italy in recent weeks, including the gang rape of a 19-year-old girl in Palermo in early July.
In this case, the victim described how her attackers forced her to drink. Video surveillance footage shows her staggering as seven young men lead her away.
“If you’re going to dance, you have every right to get drunk. There should be no misunderstandings or reservations here. But if you avoid getting drunk and passing out, you probably also avoid certain problems and the risk of actually throwing yourself into the lion’s den,” he added. .
Opposition leaders to the right-wing government of Giorgia Meloni immediately attacked him.
“I express my solidarity with the victim of the Palermo rape, who cannot, in addition to what she has experienced, suffer the infamous insults of those who make the victims feel guilty,” reacted Elly Schlein, national secretary of the Democratic Party, the main left party.
In response, Giamburno denounced “a surreal polemic” and the “instrumentalization” of his statements.
He recalled that both he and his guests had repeatedly condemned the perpetrators of the “abominable” acts, calling them “animals.”
Andrea Giambruno was also lashed out by a well-known colleague, Enrico Mentana, head of news at rival private network La7.
“If you go shopping with your bag and it’s stolen, you deserve it. If you’re a woman and you go out at night in a miniskirt and no bra, if you’re still out after midnight, or if you have one drink too many, don’t worry. surprised if you get robbed,” he joked on Instagram.