Italy has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for failing to provide enough protection to a woman who was the victim of domestic violence and her two children. The Strasbourg verdict sharply condemns the overall handling of the case, including the ineffectiveness of the inquiry, significant delays in juvenile court, and the family's three-year stay in a shelter. Audrey Carmen Manuela Ubeda, a French national living in Italy, filed a report in 2021 against her ex-partner for chronic physical and psychological abuse. The most contentious aspect is the dismissal request made at the time by the Benevento prosecutor. In their reasoning, the prosecutors described an incident in which the man allegedly held a knife to his partner's throat as merely "a bad joke." Regarding the allegations of sexual violence, they further argued that it was "normal" for a man to have to overcome a woman's "minimal resistance" when she was tired from her daily responsibilities. According to the ECHR, these utterances reveal a highly stereotyped culture that has resulted in serious "secondary victimization" of the victim by the institutions themselves. Beyond the words, Strasbourg criticized the authorities' inability to comprehend the complexities of domestic violence. Although the woman's appeal against the dismissal eventually led to her former partner being committed for trial in 2024, the first hearing had still not taken place by the time the Strasbourg court delivered its judgment.