rome
AP
—
Italy’s parliament on Tuesday passed a bill that would introduce femicide into the criminal code and make it punishable by life in prison.
The vote coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, designated by the United Nations General Assembly.
The law received bipartisan support from the center-right majority and center-left opposition parties in its final vote in the House of Commons, passing with 237 votes in favor.
The law, backed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s conservative government, was enacted in response to a series of murders and other violence targeting women in Italy. It includes stronger measures against gender-based crimes such as stalking and revenge porn.
High-profile cases such as the 2023 murder of university student Giulia Cecchettin have been key to widespread public outcry and debate about the causes of violence against women in Italy’s patriarchal culture.
“We doubled funding for anti-violence centers and shelters, promoted emergency hotlines, and implemented innovative education and awareness activities,” Meloni said Tuesday. “These are concrete steps forward, but we cannot stop here. We must continue to do more every day.”
The centre-left opposition party supported the law in parliament, but stressed that the government’s approach only tackled the criminal aspects of the problem, leaving economic and cultural disparities unaddressed.
Italian statistics agency Istat recorded 106 murders in 2024, 62 of which were committed by a partner or ex-partner.
In Italy, there is a heated debate over introducing sexual and emotional education in schools as a way to prevent gender-based violence. The government’s proposed law would ban sexual and emotional education for elementary school students and require explicit consent from parents for high school classes.
The ruling party has defended the bill as a way to protect children from ideological activities, but opposition parties and activists have described it as “medieval”.
“Italy is one of only seven countries in Europe where sex and relationships education is not yet compulsory in schools, and we are calling for it to be compulsory for all academic studies,” said Ellie Schlein, leader of the Italian Democratic Party. “Without prevention, suppression alone is not enough. Prevention can only begin in schools.”
