Woman 'critical' after kicking from boyfriend
Latest in 'femicide' spate
13 May, 16:55
(ANSA) - Caserta, May 13 - A young woman had her spleen removed and was in critical condition Monday after a kicking from her boyfriend in their home near Caserta Sunday in the latest in a spate of violence against women in Italy.
Doctors said Rosaria Aprea, 20, was "fighting for her life" after the attack by Antonio Caliendo, 27.
The couple had been living together for about two years and have an infant son.
Caliendo, who has a history of violence, beat Aprea in a fit of jealousy at a beauty contest in 2011, sending her to the hospital.
A 2012 UN report cited last week said 127 women were murdered by men in Italy in 2010, often as a result of "honor, men's unemployment or jealousy".
A third of women in Italy reported being victims of serious domestic violence.
The rate has risen since then but no figures are available yet. Four women have been killed in the last month, including one raped and murdered by a Senegalese illegal immigrant in a case that has stoked anti-immigrant feeling.
"Politics must give answers to a situation that is becoming alarming," House Speaker Laura Boldrini said after the latest attack Monday.
As well as the rising 'femicide' rate, recent non-fatal attacks have included three cases in which men threw acid in the faces of former girlfriends or ex-wives, one of them pregnant.
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