For centuries Italian law has not been neutral. It was written by men, for men, and often against women.
It wasn’t just a question of patriarchal culture or social prejudices: it was the law itself that established that a woman was worth less, had to obey her husband, and couldn’t decide about her own body or her own destiny.
In Italy, until a few decades ago, cheating on your husband was a criminal offense punishable by prison, while the adulterous man risked much less. A rapist could avoid conviction by marrying his victim. And a man could get a reduced sentence if he killed his wife to “defend his honor.”
We are not talking about the Middle Ages, but about Italy in the second half of the twentieth century. Many of these norms have been canceled thanks to feminist and civil battles. But remembering them is essential to understand how recent women’s freedom is in our country.
Here are some of the most absurd laws and regulations that have limited women’s rights in Italy.
Female adultery was a crime (until 1968)
Until 1968, the Italian penal code punished female adultery with imprisonment of up to one year. It was enough for a woman to cheat on her husband even once for the crime to be triggered.
For men, however, the situation was different: the adulterous husband was punished only if he maintained a stable and public relationship with another woman – the so-called “concubine”. In other words: male infidelity was tolerated, female infidelity criminalized.
The Constitutional Court declared this rule illegitimate in 1968, finally recognizing that it was a clear discrimination between men and women.
The husband was the “head of the family” (until 1975)
Until the family law reform of 1975, Italian law established that the husband was the head of the family. It meant that it was up to him to make the main decisions: from the family’s residence to the management of assets, up to the education of his children. The wife, in fact, was subordinate to his authority.
Only with the reform of family law is legal equality between spouses introduced and the so-called “marital authority” abolished.
Honor killings guaranteed reduced sentences (until 1981)
For decades the Italian penal code provided a form of mitigating circumstance for those who killed a woman “to defend their honor”.
Article 587 established that anyone who caused the death of his wife, daughter or sister after discovering an “illegitimate” relationship could obtain a much lower sentence than for a normal murder. In practice the state recognized that male honor could be a justification for violence. This rule was abolished only in 1981.
The rapist could avoid conviction by marrying the victim (until 1981)
Another rule unthinkable today was that of the so-called shotgun wedding. If a man raped a woman, he could avoid trial and conviction by marrying her. Marriage erased the crime. The principle was clear: sexual violence was not considered a crime against the person, but an offense against the morals and honor of the family.
The story that changed everything was that of Franca Viola, a Sicilian girl who in 1966 refused to marry her rapist. His gesture marked a huge cultural turning point. The shotgun wedding was definitively abolished in 1981.
Rape was a crime against morality, not against the person (until 1996)
Until 1996, sexual violence was included in the penal code among the crimes against public morality and good customs. It was not considered violence against a person’s freedom.
This meant that the trial often blamed the victim rather than the attacker: the woman’s behaviour, clothing and private life were analyzed as elements of the crime.
Only with the 1996 law was rape finally recognized as a crime against the person.
Women could not enter many public professions (until 1963)
For a long time, some public professions were simply closed to women. Judiciary, diplomatic career, state management roles: they were considered areas incompatible with “feminine nature”.
In the parliamentary debate of the time, there was no shortage of statements that are now disconcerting: according to some politicians, women were not suitable to judge because they were “less balanced” or too influenced by emotions. Only in 1963 a law allowed women to access all public offices, including the judiciary.
Blank resignations especially affected female workers (for decades)
For years, a practice has been widespread that especially affects women: the so-called blank resignations. Upon hiring, some workers were forced to sign an undated letter of resignation. The employer could use it at any time, for example when the worker became pregnant. Only in 2012 were regulations introduced to seriously combat this practice.
Why remember it
Many of these rules were abolished only between the 1970s and 1990s. We are therefore not talking about a remote past, but about rights acquired just yesterday. Remembering these laws doesn’t just mean telling the story of discrimination. It means understanding how important the civil and feminist battles have been that have changed Italian society.
And above all, remember one simple thing: rights never arrived alone. They have been conquered.
