“Lasciando aperta la porta”. Quando gli stereotipi entrano in tribunale
DI MARIA BORRELLO
ABSTRACT – This contribution deals with the topic of power relations between genders, starting from the discursive practices which describe and connote such relationality, as developed within the legal space. In particular, we will assess the impact of gender stereotypes in addressing and determining judicial practices and the work of jurists, contributing to the phenomenon of epistemic injustice, as defined by Miranda Fricker. A recent judgement on the subject of sexual violence will therefore be considered in order to highlight the discriminatory effects produced by stereotypes, which consist of a systematic devaluation of the word of the women victims, who are thus deprived of decisional autonomy, discredited and silenced in their demands of justice. Investigating the operating methods of this mechanism, starting from the judgements that carry out these discriminatory forms, then allows us to become aware of a phenomenon that is both harmful and unjustified in order to curb its incidence and to activate so that our relations in common are oriented towards a different direction: equal and concretely respectful of differences.
KEYWORDS – gender stereotypes – epistemic injustice – Court judgements – equality – democracy.