A female TV reporter was molested in public live on-air in Italy while was reporting a match that was ironically performed to raise awareness of ‘violence against women.’ A journalist with Italy’s Toscana TV, Greta Beccaglia was reporting live outdoor the Carlo Castellani stadium in Empoli, when a fan slapped on her buttocks live on air.
Beccaglia was speaking to some football fans post the match when two men approached her from behind. One of them looked as if it would spit on his palms earlier than slapping them on the female reporter’s buttocks. The man was caught live on the air doing so. A visibly disturbed Beccaglia turned towards the men and in a well mannered way told them they can’t do this. Both the men, however, quickly fled the scene.
Ironically, the incident took place post a game by which players wore a red mark on their cheeks symbolizing support of the ‘give violence against women the red card’ campaign during ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women’ week.
While speaking to the Italian newspaper Corriere Fiorentino, Beccaglia said that what happened to her is unacceptable and must not happen to any person else. She also noted that the incident was caught because she was on camera but such incidents happen with women every day, without anyone’s knowledge as every time it cannot be caught on camera. Beccagloia then said that she felt hurt and helpless because no one around her said or did anything to help her
On the other hand, Beccaglia’s male colleague, Giorgio Micheletti who hosted the interview from Toscana TV’s broadcast center received flak from viewers for not speaking out against the men involved in the incident, instead, telling the female reporter to not get angry or upset. Commentators argued that Micheletti should have stopped the live stream in the aftermath of the incident.
Outrage over the incident
The Order of Journalists of Tuscany called the said incident a ‘very serious episode of harassment’, and criticized the behavior of fans on a day when the greatest attention was paid to the fight for violence against women. The Order also expressed solidarity with Beccaglia.
According to Corriere Fiorentino, an investigation is being conducted by the police in Empoli. The police are trying to identify the suspects by reviewing the clip from Toscana TV along with CCTV footage from around the area.
