ORspite by Silvia Toffanin a very true, Michelle Hunziker talked about the Double Defense Foundation created together with Giulia Bongiorno. However, his statements sparked an indignant reaction from anti-violence centres, who rose up demanding an apology from the showgirl and Mediaset. She apologized which arrived a few hours later. But what did Michelle Hunziker say to spark the controversy? Here’s what happened.
Michelle Hunziker and Double Defense
During the broadcast, the Swiss presenter spoke about the his foundation, which works to help victims of discrimination, abuse and violence, and to raise public awareness on the topic. He explained that the association’s is «a journey that has lasted 17 years, for me Doppia Difesa is very important. And it was born out of a necessity of mine, when in 2007 I had this stalking problem with a person who also threatened my daughter’s safety. And I realized that in Italy there were no laws that protected women. Just no way. It was not known what a persecutory act was, a man who obsessively pursued a woman. There were no laws, the police did not have the ability or possibility to arrest or remove these stalkers.”
We didn’t stop even during Covid
From there, he said, together with the lawyer Giulia Bongiorno Doppia Difesa was born. AND “two bills also emerged. One is the one on stalking and the other – after the case of Noemi Durini – the one on the Red Code», for which there was also a strong personal commitment. And speaking precisely about the commitment, Hunziker continued: «We didn’t stop even during Covid when all the anti-violence centers were rightly closed». And this very phrase sparked controversy.
DiRe’s reply
It was above all who raised the shields To say – Women on the Net against violence, who in a note expressed “dismay and indignation” at Michelle Hunziker’s statements. According to the association, claiming that all anti-violence centers except those of Doppia Difesa were closed during Covid was «an erroneous statement, since all the anti-violence centers in the network To say they remained open and they never stopped operations throughout the pandemic. And even those involved in emergency reception projects, 24 hours a day, continued to intervene, reaching women in hospitals, police stations or police stations to hold support interviews and offer hospitality, when requested.”
Anti-violence centers during the pandemic
Furthermore, the association continued, «to allow all women to reach the nearest facilities in the territories, iin that period To say promoted the #noicisiamo – Covid-19 emergency social campaign which was accompanied by various advocacy actions aimed at the Government”. And the demonstration «of how much Hunziker’s statements are the result of an unforgivable misinformation, is contained in the monitoring numbers carried out by the network To say during the Covid-19 health emergency. From 2 March to 5 April 2020 anti-violence centers To say they were contacted in total by 2,867 women, of which 806 (28%) had never contacted the network before. The increase in support requests, compared to the monthly average recorded with the last statistical survey of 2018, equal to 1,643, was 74.5%”.
The request for rectification
For this reason, «in light of the obvious unfoundedness of the statements heard last night on Verissimo, the net To say asks Mediaset to urgently correct what Hunziker reported, in order not to ignore the enormous work carried out uninterruptedly by the operators of the anti-violence centers in the difficult phase of the health emergency”.
An apology from Michelle Hunziker
Michelle Hunziker on November 19, 2022 in Germany. (Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
The reply arrived quickly, published on the website very true: «With reference to the interview given on Sunday 3 March during the “Verissimo” broadcast, Michelle Hunziker simply wanted to refer to the extreme difficulty of continuing to provide help to women victims of violence and of continuing to be a point of reference for them during the pandemic». Then the apology that put the matter to rest. Michelle Hunziker «therefore apologizes for having mistakenly used the adjective “everyone” regarding anti-violence centers and has the utmost respect and appreciation for all centers that help women.”
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