Caterina Stellato, who fled Naples because of her husband's violence, is running for councilor in Tuscany

A victim of her husband's violence, a case made public thanks to a 2020 viral video showing the man climbing a gutter to enter his wife's home, she lived "in secret" with her three children in Borgo San Lorenzo (Florence).

Now she has decided to come out into the open by running for city councilor on a civic list in the town that welcomed her. "I want my story to help other women find the courage to speak out. To escape from men who, at best, reduce us to survivors.", Caterina Stellato, 43, told La Nazione.

"The anxiety and fears are there, that's undeniable, but I want to react. I want to stop living in fear. I don't want to hide anymore; it's him who should hide.", he adds, referring to Antimo Carrera, sentenced to 6 years and 6 months of imprisonment by the court of Naples for mistreatment. Carrera is currently in prison.

"I'm never leaving Mugello again. I want to live here without the obsession that my ex-husband will come looking for me. Knowing him, when he gets out of prison, he'll do everything he can to find me. Prison certainly won't have changed him.

And that's why I don't want to hide. Living hidden means living in fear. I've lived too many years with shivers on my skin and sighs over nothing.".

She explains how she arrived in Mugello: "'Chi l'ha visto?' took care of my case. Offers poured in from all over Italy to help me and my children. Among the many, one came from Borgo San Lorenzo. Fulvia and Marcello offered me a job in a healthcare facility.

I still remember the day they picked me up at the station, April 29, 2021; they greeted me with a pair of keys: 'These are for your new home.' It was the best day of my life. Borgo San Lorenzo gave me a chance for rebirth. I'm grateful to this town, and if I can do anything, I'll be very humbled to do so.

"Violent men should be arrested immediately."

As for what politics can do for women victims of violence, Caterina states: "Unfortunately the no approach It's of little use. My husband had one, but he violated it several times. He should be arrested immediately. And then, I insist, it's necessary for women to report, to have the courage to do so. This is the first step towards salvation."

(in the photo Caterina Stellato and two frames taken from the video broadcast by Chi l'ha Visto? in which her husband tried to climb into her house)