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News Italian parliament unanimously votes to make femicide a crime

News Italian parliament unanimously votes to make femicide a crime

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Magpie
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Yesterday, 10:14 AM
#1
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dzp050yn2o.amp
https://archive.ph/7RPgq

Quote:Deputies in the Italian parliament have voted unanimously to introduce the crime of femicide – the murder of a woman, motivated by gender – as a distinct law to be punished with a life sentence.

In a symbolic move, the bill was approved on the day dedicated to the elimination of violence against women worldwide.
Quote:From now on, Italy will record every murder of a woman that is motivated by her gender as femicide.

"Femicides will be classified, they will be studied in their real context, they will exist," Judge Paola di Nicola, one of the authors of the new law, said of its significance.

She was part of an expert commission that examined 211 recent murders of women for common characteristics, then drafted the femicide law.

"Talking of such crimes as rooted in exasperated love or strong jealousy is a distortion – that uses romantic, culturally acceptable terms," the judge argues, surrounded by her research at her home in Rome.

"This law means we will be the first in Europe to reveal the real motivation of the perpetrators, which is hierarchy and power."
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Magpie
Yesterday, 10:14 AM #1

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dzp050yn2o.amp
https://archive.ph/7RPgq

Quote:Deputies in the Italian parliament have voted unanimously to introduce the crime of femicide – the murder of a woman, motivated by gender – as a distinct law to be punished with a life sentence.

In a symbolic move, the bill was approved on the day dedicated to the elimination of violence against women worldwide.
Quote:From now on, Italy will record every murder of a woman that is motivated by her gender as femicide.

"Femicides will be classified, they will be studied in their real context, they will exist," Judge Paola di Nicola, one of the authors of the new law, said of its significance.

She was part of an expert commission that examined 211 recent murders of women for common characteristics, then drafted the femicide law.

"Talking of such crimes as rooted in exasperated love or strong jealousy is a distortion – that uses romantic, culturally acceptable terms," the judge argues, surrounded by her research at her home in Rome.

"This law means we will be the first in Europe to reveal the real motivation of the perpetrators, which is hierarchy and power."

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LeftFem
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Yesterday, 10:49 AM
#2
Not to be a downer, but this is a symbolic vote, as femicide is already a crime, and is punished when the culprit is found. I say this for one simple reason because there was another vote on more or less the same day:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/27/italy-parliament-delays-new-rape-law-sex-without-consent

Quote:Italy’s parliament has delayed a debate over a landmark law that would define sex without consent as rape amid a rift within the ruling coalition.

The measure, the result of a rare pact between the far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and her main political opponent, the centre-left leader, Elly Schlein, passed in the lower house last week and had been expected to get final approval in the senate this week.

But the debate has been unexpectedly stalled by the League, the far-right coalition ally led by the deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, who argued that the law would “clog up the courts” and be used as a form of revenge.

The bill stipulates that anyone who engages in sexual acts without the other person’s explicit consent can face a prison term of six to 12 years. The aim of the measure is to make it easier for victims to report and prosecute rape.

In Italy, sexual violence is defined as forcing someone to undergo sexual acts through threats, physical force or abuse of authority. But the criminal code does not explicitly recognise the absence of consent as sufficient grounds for bringing a charge.

Salvini said that while he backed the law in principle, the current draft “leaves too much open to the individual’s interpretation” and risked fuelling conflict rather than reducing violence.

“It leaves room for women and men to use a vague law for personal vendettas without any abuse taking place,” he told reporters.

The postponement came after Italy’s parliament gave the final approval this week to a bill making femicide a distinct crime, punishable with a life sentence. The plan had been for both measures to be passed to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November.

Figures on the left have speculated that the setback was caused by the Meloni coalition’s failure to secure what would have been key wins in regional elections in Campania and Puglia this week. Both southern regions remained with the left after strong victories by an alliance led by Schlein’s Democratic party, giving the group hopes of ousting Meloni from power in 2027 elections.

Schlein told reporters she had spoken to Meloni about the delay to the bill, “precisely to ask her to respect the agreement [on it]”, but did not reveal Meloni’s response. She added “it would be a serious thing” if the delay was the result of a post-electoral reaction within the ruling majority, with “women paying the price”.

Schlein has been invited to Atreju, the annual festival organised by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, in December, and said she would go on condition of having a face-to-face debate with the prime minister over this issue and others.

Government ministers sought to downplay the row. Eugenia Roccella, the family minister, said it was “better to take more time” and “pass a convincing bill”, while the justice minister, Carlo Nordio, said the delay was required owing to technical issues and would still be approved.

The senate debate is now expected to take place in January.


After the long article, my thoughts are more or less that they passed the bill which makes little or no difference to men in power. Femicide is not something they will be likely to ever do. And the law passed while treats it as a different crime, and is a bit more serious, let's be honest, murder is already a crime that does not have a low sentence usually.

 But a rape law like this would be against their interests, as they all have skeletons in the closets. It's no surprise the two parties that were agreed to this are led by women (Even if technically one is a left wing party, one is a right wing party), and the ones against are led by men....
Edited Yesterday, 10:50 AM by LeftFem.
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LeftFem
Yesterday, 10:49 AM #2

Not to be a downer, but this is a symbolic vote, as femicide is already a crime, and is punished when the culprit is found. I say this for one simple reason because there was another vote on more or less the same day:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/27/italy-parliament-delays-new-rape-law-sex-without-consent

Quote:Italy’s parliament has delayed a debate over a landmark law that would define sex without consent as rape amid a rift within the ruling coalition.

The measure, the result of a rare pact between the far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and her main political opponent, the centre-left leader, Elly Schlein, passed in the lower house last week and had been expected to get final approval in the senate this week.

But the debate has been unexpectedly stalled by the League, the far-right coalition ally led by the deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, who argued that the law would “clog up the courts” and be used as a form of revenge.

The bill stipulates that anyone who engages in sexual acts without the other person’s explicit consent can face a prison term of six to 12 years. The aim of the measure is to make it easier for victims to report and prosecute rape.

In Italy, sexual violence is defined as forcing someone to undergo sexual acts through threats, physical force or abuse of authority. But the criminal code does not explicitly recognise the absence of consent as sufficient grounds for bringing a charge.

Salvini said that while he backed the law in principle, the current draft “leaves too much open to the individual’s interpretation” and risked fuelling conflict rather than reducing violence.

“It leaves room for women and men to use a vague law for personal vendettas without any abuse taking place,” he told reporters.

The postponement came after Italy’s parliament gave the final approval this week to a bill making femicide a distinct crime, punishable with a life sentence. The plan had been for both measures to be passed to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November.

Figures on the left have speculated that the setback was caused by the Meloni coalition’s failure to secure what would have been key wins in regional elections in Campania and Puglia this week. Both southern regions remained with the left after strong victories by an alliance led by Schlein’s Democratic party, giving the group hopes of ousting Meloni from power in 2027 elections.

Schlein told reporters she had spoken to Meloni about the delay to the bill, “precisely to ask her to respect the agreement [on it]”, but did not reveal Meloni’s response. She added “it would be a serious thing” if the delay was the result of a post-electoral reaction within the ruling majority, with “women paying the price”.

Schlein has been invited to Atreju, the annual festival organised by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, in December, and said she would go on condition of having a face-to-face debate with the prime minister over this issue and others.

Government ministers sought to downplay the row. Eugenia Roccella, the family minister, said it was “better to take more time” and “pass a convincing bill”, while the justice minister, Carlo Nordio, said the delay was required owing to technical issues and would still be approved.

The senate debate is now expected to take place in January.


After the long article, my thoughts are more or less that they passed the bill which makes little or no difference to men in power. Femicide is not something they will be likely to ever do. And the law passed while treats it as a different crime, and is a bit more serious, let's be honest, murder is already a crime that does not have a low sentence usually.

 But a rape law like this would be against their interests, as they all have skeletons in the closets. It's no surprise the two parties that were agreed to this are led by women (Even if technically one is a left wing party, one is a right wing party), and the ones against are led by men....

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Impress Polly
The kind they warned you about.
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Yesterday, 7:44 PM
#3
(Yesterday, 10:49 AM)LeftFem Not to be a downer, but this is a symbolic vote, as femicide is already a crime, and is punished when the culprit is found. I say this for one simple reason because there was another vote on more or less the same day:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/27/italy-parliament-delays-new-rape-law-sex-without-consent

After the long article, my thoughts are more or less that they passed the bill which makes little or no difference to men in power. Femicide is not something they will be likely to ever do. And the law passed while treats it as a different crime, and is a bit more serious, let's be honest, murder is already a crime that does not have a low sentence usually.

 But a rape law like this would be against their interests, as they all have skeletons in the closets. It's no surprise the two parties that were agreed to this are led by women (Even if technically one is a left wing party, one is a right wing party), and the ones against are led by men....

Until this vote, femicide wasn't distinguished in Italian law from murder in general. This new law makes it a hate crime. As in if your motive for killing a woman was hatred of her sex, you can now be punished for that too (the motive) in addition to being punished for the act itself. So murdering a woman, if specifically because of her sex, will now count as two crimes in Italian law, not one. You get extra punishment if a woman's sex was your motive for murdering her, in other words. How much dif it'll make depends factors like enforcement. For perspective, 83% of women's homicides in Italy last were were officially considered femicides. By far the main and most common reason why men kill women, in other words, is because they hate you for being female. Therefore, it makes sense to penalize that motivation too just like a sane society penalizes drunk driving itself, not just the act of plowing into a pedestrian or another vehicle, in order to discourage the root cause of the problem (or in this case, acting on it).

But you're right about the rape law! Many of these male politicians probably have skeletons in their closet and would rather not take a chance on those coming to light by broadening the legal definition of rape.
Edited Yesterday, 7:54 PM by Impress Polly.
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Impress Polly
The kind they warned you about.
Yesterday, 7:44 PM #3

(Yesterday, 10:49 AM)LeftFem Not to be a downer, but this is a symbolic vote, as femicide is already a crime, and is punished when the culprit is found. I say this for one simple reason because there was another vote on more or less the same day:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/27/italy-parliament-delays-new-rape-law-sex-without-consent

After the long article, my thoughts are more or less that they passed the bill which makes little or no difference to men in power. Femicide is not something they will be likely to ever do. And the law passed while treats it as a different crime, and is a bit more serious, let's be honest, murder is already a crime that does not have a low sentence usually.

 But a rape law like this would be against their interests, as they all have skeletons in the closets. It's no surprise the two parties that were agreed to this are led by women (Even if technically one is a left wing party, one is a right wing party), and the ones against are led by men....

Until this vote, femicide wasn't distinguished in Italian law from murder in general. This new law makes it a hate crime. As in if your motive for killing a woman was hatred of her sex, you can now be punished for that too (the motive) in addition to being punished for the act itself. So murdering a woman, if specifically because of her sex, will now count as two crimes in Italian law, not one. You get extra punishment if a woman's sex was your motive for murdering her, in other words. How much dif it'll make depends factors like enforcement. For perspective, 83% of women's homicides in Italy last were were officially considered femicides. By far the main and most common reason why men kill women, in other words, is because they hate you for being female. Therefore, it makes sense to penalize that motivation too just like a sane society penalizes drunk driving itself, not just the act of plowing into a pedestrian or another vehicle, in order to discourage the root cause of the problem (or in this case, acting on it).

But you're right about the rape law! Many of these male politicians probably have skeletons in their closet and would rather not take a chance on those coming to light by broadening the legal definition of rape.

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LeftFem
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Today, 3:03 AM
#4
(Yesterday, 7:44 PM)Impress Polly
(Yesterday, 10:49 AM)LeftFem Not to be a downer, but this is a symbolic vote, as femicide is already a crime, and is punished when the culprit is found. I say this for one simple reason because there was another vote on more or less the same day:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/27/italy-parliament-delays-new-rape-law-sex-without-consent

After the long article, my thoughts are more or less that they passed the bill which makes little or no difference to men in power. Femicide is not something they will be likely to ever do. And the law passed while treats it as a different crime, and is a bit more serious, let's be honest, murder is already a crime that does not have a low sentence usually.

 But a rape law like this would be against their interests, as they all have skeletons in the closets. It's no surprise the two parties that were agreed to this are led by women (Even if technically one is a left wing party, one is a right wing party), and the ones against are led by men....

Until this vote, femicide wasn't distinguished in Italian law from murder in general. This new law makes it a hate crime. As in if your motive for killing a woman was hatred of her sex, you can now be punished for that too (the motive) in addition to being punished for the act itself. So murdering a woman, if specifically because of her sex, will now count as two crimes in Italian law, not one. You get extra punishment if a woman's sex was your motive for murdering her, in other words. How much dif it'll make depends factors like enforcement. For perspective, 83% of women's homicides in Italy last were were officially considered femicides. By far the main and most common reason why men kill women, in other words, is because they hate you for being female. Therefore, it makes sense to penalize that motivation too just like a sane society penalizes drunk driving itself, not just the act of plowing into a pedestrian or another vehicle, in order to discourage the root cause of the problem (or in this case, acting on it).

But you're right about the rape law! Many of these male politicians probably have skeletons in their closet and would rather not take a chance on those coming to light by broadening the legal definition of rape.

I didn't consider that, but you're right, it is still good news, even if it isn't as good as it should be
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LeftFem
Today, 3:03 AM #4

(Yesterday, 7:44 PM)Impress Polly
(Yesterday, 10:49 AM)LeftFem Not to be a downer, but this is a symbolic vote, as femicide is already a crime, and is punished when the culprit is found. I say this for one simple reason because there was another vote on more or less the same day:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/27/italy-parliament-delays-new-rape-law-sex-without-consent

After the long article, my thoughts are more or less that they passed the bill which makes little or no difference to men in power. Femicide is not something they will be likely to ever do. And the law passed while treats it as a different crime, and is a bit more serious, let's be honest, murder is already a crime that does not have a low sentence usually.

 But a rape law like this would be against their interests, as they all have skeletons in the closets. It's no surprise the two parties that were agreed to this are led by women (Even if technically one is a left wing party, one is a right wing party), and the ones against are led by men....

Until this vote, femicide wasn't distinguished in Italian law from murder in general. This new law makes it a hate crime. As in if your motive for killing a woman was hatred of her sex, you can now be punished for that too (the motive) in addition to being punished for the act itself. So murdering a woman, if specifically because of her sex, will now count as two crimes in Italian law, not one. You get extra punishment if a woman's sex was your motive for murdering her, in other words. How much dif it'll make depends factors like enforcement. For perspective, 83% of women's homicides in Italy last were were officially considered femicides. By far the main and most common reason why men kill women, in other words, is because they hate you for being female. Therefore, it makes sense to penalize that motivation too just like a sane society penalizes drunk driving itself, not just the act of plowing into a pedestrian or another vehicle, in order to discourage the root cause of the problem (or in this case, acting on it).

But you're right about the rape law! Many of these male politicians probably have skeletons in their closet and would rather not take a chance on those coming to light by broadening the legal definition of rape.

I didn't consider that, but you're right, it is still good news, even if it isn't as good as it should be

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Magpie
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7 hours ago
#5
Impress Polly made a great point already, I just want to add on to say that regardless how these specific powerful men feel about it, men as a class are definitely not on board with legal changes like this. Malta reformed their law in 2022 and the first man to be charged for femicide immediately challenged the law because of the supposed "sexism". Croatia's femicide law of 2024 got pushback from their supreme court. Whether it'll receive legal challenges in Italy still remains to be seen. Most men might not be looking to commit femicide in their lifetimes but they have it in their heads that any sort of femicide law means that men's lives are treated as lesser so they'll fight it just the same.

Aside from that there's also the reality that unfortunately babysteps are necessary because we started out with nothing. To give a different example, in my country the collection of data on femicide has only been mandated for about 2,5 years. Before that there were no official stats at all, with a feminist blog having to keep the record instead.
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Magpie
7 hours ago #5

Impress Polly made a great point already, I just want to add on to say that regardless how these specific powerful men feel about it, men as a class are definitely not on board with legal changes like this. Malta reformed their law in 2022 and the first man to be charged for femicide immediately challenged the law because of the supposed "sexism". Croatia's femicide law of 2024 got pushback from their supreme court. Whether it'll receive legal challenges in Italy still remains to be seen. Most men might not be looking to commit femicide in their lifetimes but they have it in their heads that any sort of femicide law means that men's lives are treated as lesser so they'll fight it just the same.

Aside from that there's also the reality that unfortunately babysteps are necessary because we started out with nothing. To give a different example, in my country the collection of data on femicide has only been mandated for about 2,5 years. Before that there were no official stats at all, with a feminist blog having to keep the record instead.

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