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Italian wins in court after husband's 'sex strike'
Court awards damages, says 7-year campaign was unfair
Updated: 10:45 a.m. ET March 25, 2005ROME - An Italian woman whose angry husband refused for 7 years to have sex with her was awarded divorce damages by Italy's high court this week.
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Francesco launched his "sex strike" in the early 1990s to punish his wife, Piera, for taking sides against him in a family dispute over money, according to details of the case reported by local media.
They bitterly separated in 2000 and Francesco, still convinced that she was responsible for the broken marriage, refused to make support payments demanded by Italian courts and repeatedly appealed against them.
But the highest court ruled that Francesco's sexual punishment did not fit the crime, and doomed Piera to perpetual frustration.
"The refusal of affection or sexual attention must constitute the blame for the separation," the court ruled.
For Piera, "satisfaction in life (was) impossible ... along with fulfillment of marriage in its deepest sense." Beyond support payments, Francesco must pay court costs of several thousand euros.
Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
Court awards damages, says 7-year campaign was unfair
Updated: 10:45 a.m. ET March 25, 2005ROME - An Italian woman whose angry husband refused for 7 years to have sex with her was awarded divorce damages by Italy's high court this week.
advertisement
Francesco launched his "sex strike" in the early 1990s to punish his wife, Piera, for taking sides against him in a family dispute over money, according to details of the case reported by local media.
They bitterly separated in 2000 and Francesco, still convinced that she was responsible for the broken marriage, refused to make support payments demanded by Italian courts and repeatedly appealed against them.
But the highest court ruled that Francesco's sexual punishment did not fit the crime, and doomed Piera to perpetual frustration.
"The refusal of affection or sexual attention must constitute the blame for the separation," the court ruled.
For Piera, "satisfaction in life (was) impossible ... along with fulfillment of marriage in its deepest sense." Beyond support payments, Francesco must pay court costs of several thousand euros.
Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
Seven years is just a bit much in my modest opinion. I'm thinkin' more like a couple of months, maybe. I mean, they couldn't have really been happy all that time if he was actually refusing to do the deed. So, how long?
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