Tired of judgement, knock it off! says Palermo rape victim

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 26 - The 19-year-old victim of an alleged gang rape in Palermo in July said Saturday she was tired of being stigmatised for her behaviour and told that she deserved what happened to her, and told her detractors to knock it off.
    "Honestly, I'm tired of being polite, so I'm going to say it in French: knock it off with things like: 'Oh, but she makes videos on Tik Tok with obscene songs, it's normal that this should then happen to her' or 'Of course, because of the way she dresses'," said the young woman, speaking out for the first time on social media after allegedly being gang raped by seven youths including a minor on the night of July 6-7.
    Comments such as the ones she has been receiving could drive some girls in a similar situation to commit suicide, she added.
    "Unfortunately for you, I couldn't give a damn (about the slurs)," continued the woman, addressing her critics.
    "So, shut your little gobs and continue watching the other Tik Tokkers who open their legs in videos and commenting on them with heart emojis and drooling instead of judging a girl who has been raped," she concluded.
    The case has made headlines in Italy.
    High-profile comments by Italian rapper Ermal Meta in solidarity with the victim have also driven other women to send him "thousands" of stories of abuse, some of which he has posted on his social media.
    On Wednesday Meta wrote to Premier Giorgia Meloni on Instagram urging her to end "this slaughter".
    "I did not vote for you but you are my premier, as you are of all these women, and I address you with the utmost respect, as an institutional office, a woman, a mother and a Christian: do you not believe that the time has come to end this slaughter?" he said.
    Photo: Protest march in Palermo in solidarity with the victim of the gang rape in July. (ANSA).