Europe must take a different approach to immigration—particularly to illegal arrivals—if it wants to reduce instances of what NGOs call ‘gender-based violence,’ Giorgia Meloni has suggested.
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25th), Italy’s prime minister told Donna Moderna one of the ways she was working to protect women was by “combating mass illegal immigration.”
Now I will be called racist, but there is a higher incidence, unfortunately in cases of sexual violence, by immigrants, especially [those entering] illegally.
Reporting Meloni’s comments, il Giornale noted that foreign nationals living in Italy committed 43.3% of sexual assaults in 2023, despite making up just 8% of the population. It added that migrants were overrepresented in acts of persecution in the same year, as well as in cases of mistreatment of family members and cohabitants.
Deputy PM Matteo Salvini later shared a list of names of women who were killed by non-citizens, insisting that this “in no way diminishes Italian cases but highlights the dangerous consequences of uncontrolled immigration, often coming from countries that do not share Western principles and values.”
“Defending girls,” he added, “also means recognising the inevitable and growing incidence of foreign aggressors.”
Many responded on social media—just as Meloni had predicted—by describing the post as racist.
On the same day, German officials revealed the national increase in such violence over the past year. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said
We see a femicide in Germany almost every day. … They become victims because they are women. That is intolerable.
The official ‘Hilfetelefon’ support hotline advertises its availability in 17 foreign languages.
