In an effort to encourage “many other girls who live similar situations to mine” to come forward, Francesca, a young Italian lesbian, told a local newspaper, Republic, about the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of her family when they discovered her sexuality.

Now 23, the abuse began at the age of 15 when Francesca accidentally left her cell phone at home. Her younger sister read a series of texts between Francesca and her friends discussing Francesca’s feelings about other girls and then showed the messages to their father.

The whole family, her mother, her father and her sister, as well as her sister’s boyfriend, turned up to Francesca’s school to collect her. “And while we were in the car, they beat me in the head, in the legs, they beat me everywhere.”

Upon returning home, Francesca was locked in her room and it was only a matter of hours before the sexual abuse began. Her father undressed in front of her, saying, “You must look at these things, not the women” before raping her. There followed years of ‘corrective rape’ and beatings as the family tried to ‘fix’ her. Her mother told her, “Better a dead daughter than a lesbian”.

Francesca described, “I tried to commit suicide three times, but after yet another sexual abuse I escaped…I was now at a crossroads, life or death. And I chose to live and denounce my parents.” She continued, “It was not easy, but I had many beautiful people beside me who helped me overcome difficult times.”

Francesca has now started a civil action against her parents. She has shared her story to encourage others to report their own.

In Italy in recent times, there has been a rise in homophobic views and attacks, including a psychologist telling a young Italian lesbian her sexuality was “a passing fad”.