This is not meant to scare you out of talking to boys when you’re in a bar or acknowledging a “ciao” here and there. Nor is it meant to proclaim that every Italian man disrespects women. It is simply meant to keep you informed and aware of what can and does occasionally happen to unsuspecting girls. For instance, a precedent was set in Italian court that states that women who cross the threshold into an Italian man’s home or apartment are consenting to whatever may follow. Another precedent set declares that women in skinny jeans must have helped remove them and therefore must have consented to what followed.
So when you go out to a bar (especially in Campo de’ Fiori, where Italian men with a one-track mind troll for American girls), make sure that you stay with your friends. Do not wander off alone with a boy you have just met, and do not let your friends do so if they have been drinking- they might regret it the next morning. My friends and I actually tell boys that the residence in which we stay checks to make sure everyone is inside at 2 am, when they close the gates (none of which is true). That way, we are all able to leave together before things have a chance to get out of hand.
In sum: Be careful, be safe, be aware, and have a great time in Rome!
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