Italian parliament unanimously votes to make femicide a crime

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.

The idea of a law on femicide had been discussed in Italy before but the murder of Giulia Cecchettin by her ex-boyfriend was a tragedy that shocked the country into action.

In late November 2023, the 22-year-old was stabbed to death by Filippo Turetta, who then wrapped her body in bags and dumped it by a lakeside.

The killing was headline news until he was caught, but it was the powerful response of Giulia's sister, Elena, that has endured.

The murderer was not a monster, she said, but the "healthy son" of a deeply patriarchal society. They were words that brought crowds out across Italy demanding change.

Two years on, MPs have voted for a law on femicide after a long and passionately debated session of parliament. It makes Italy one of very few places to categorise femicide as a distinct crime.

Introduced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the law was backed by her own hard-right government as well as opposition MPs. Many wore red ribbons or red jackets to remember the victims of violence.

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."

Italy will now join Cyprus, Malta and Croatia as EU member states that have introduced a legal definition of femicide into their criminal codes.

Italy's problems on that front are currently on display at the Museum of the Patriarchy, a thought-provoking new exhibition in Rome.

Italy currently ranks 85th in the Global Gender Gap Index, almost the lowest of all EU states, with just over half of all women in employment, to name just one issue.

"For us, the way to fight against violence against women is to prevent the violence, and to prevent the violence we have to build equality," argues Fabiana Costantino of Action Aid Italy, which created the temporary museum to imagine a day when male dominance is consigned to the past.

Exhibits include a loudspeaker playing cat calls and a room with the names of women killed by men projected on to a wall.

"There are a lot of forms of violence - like a pyramid," Fabiana Costantino says. "We have to destroy the base in order to destroy the problem in its worst form, which is femicide."

Tuesday's mammoth session of parliament ended late in the evening in Rome with a final speech by a governing party MP vowing that violence against women "will not be tolerated, will not go unpunished."

The law was approved by all 237 deputies and greeted with a burst of applause.

"This shows that on the fight against violence against women, our country has a common political will," Judge Paola di Nicola argues, whilst accepting there's a long way still to go.

"It shows that Italy is finally speaking about violence against women having deep roots. The first effect is to make the country discuss something it's never confronted before."

Additional reporting from Giulia Tommasi

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