La tutela della donna dalla c.d. violenza di genere. L’intervento sulla relazione affettiva in una prospettiva criminologica ‘‘integrata’’

The essay, which is mainly devoted to the analysis of a law recently enacted in Italy to prevent and punish gender violence in the family, emphasizes the worth of religious sensibility (as articulated in the Relatio Synodi on the new challenges posed to the pastoral care of families) in contributing to a widening and deepening of the scope of criminal provisions. The approach deemed best conducive to a stable and effective protection of victims of these crimes should not be limited to rash punishment or detachment of the wrongdoer from the family. Instead the overall ‘wounded’ relationship should be addressed with a gamut of social and psychological interventions. Every attempt should be made to save the ability of the prospective serious offender to verbalize his emotional discomforts, thus gradually removing him from the idea that the recourse to violence be a viable way to recover the lost balance between family roles or to reassert his dominance on the female partner.