"I know there are fears, resistance, and misunderstandings, but I assure you that emotional education isn't a threat, it's a protection. It takes nothing away from anyone, but adds something to everyone: awareness, respect, and humanity." Gino Cecchettin, Giulia's father and president of the foundation named after his daughter, spoke at a hearing before the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into Femicide two years after the crime. "A school that doesn't talk about affection, respect, and equality is a school that leaves children alone in a world that shouts distorted messages."
"When schools are silent, social media speaks, toxic models speak, and the silence of adults speaks. We have a duty to provide young people with tools to orient themselves, not just knowledge to study," Cecchettin added. "I believe that education is the only possible systematic response," he emphasized. "We cannot delegate to the courts what is the responsibility of schools, families, and cultural institutions. It is there, in classrooms and places of learning, that we can teach our children to recognize violence before it becomes an act, before it becomes a tragedy." He then explained: "My commitment and that of the foundation arises from the desire to prevent other parents from experiencing what I experienced, but also from the hope that one day foundations named after murdered girls will no longer be needed because we will have learned to recognize the sacred value of each person's freedom, the sacred value of life. We cannot change what has been, but we can change what will be. For Giulia and for all the Giulias to come, I ask you to make a courageous choice, to believe in education as the first form of justice, as the true form of prevention ."
"As a parent, I speak about the importance of family and of emotional development courses in schools, even at the lower levels. I believe education is important starting in preschool, " she specified. "It's clear that each level of education requires the right words and the right training, but certain fundamental concepts that should begin with parental education can easily be taught at school."
"I'm not here to call for more punishment or harsher laws. Justice is necessary, but it always comes later. I'm here to talk about what can come first: prevention and therefore education." "Today, gender violence is often portrayed as an emergency, but it isn't," she emphasized. "It is a structural phenomenon rooted in our culture, in our languages, in our relationship models, in the stereotypes we continue to pass down. It doesn't appear suddenly, it's not a sudden outburst; it grows slowly in a society that too often justifies, minimizes, or remains silent ." As a foundation, "we believe that the only lasting response to violence is to educate people about respect, empathy, and mutual freedom, and this can only happen in school, the place where people, not just students, are formed. It's not about ideology, but about civilization," she explained. "Talking about emotional education means teaching children to know themselves, to manage their emotions, to recognize boundaries, and to seek and give consent. It means teaching that love is not possession, that strength is not domination, that respect is the basis of every relationship."
"Regarding relationships with other organizations, the foundation's guiding principles include the need to work together, to join forces. We've already made agreements with some of the organizations that run anti-violence centers . For example, with Differenza Donna, we've created a new anti-violence center in Rome, precisely because we're convinced of the importance of this facility, which is the first to help women." "What more can be done?" she asks. "Support these organizations, provide financial support for the violence centers in a way that can benefit every woman who's been victimized. They're still insufficient. I read that the State-Regions report said at least 10 times as many were needed. So it's clear that many women aren't getting a response because they're overwhelmed by so many requests. What the institutions can do is ensure their availability, ensure a sufficient number, and, if necessary, talk to the organizations that run the anti-violence centers and figure out how to increase the number of these centers."
(Unioneonline)