The femicide bill is law. On 25 November, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Chamber unanimously approved the bill which introduces the crime of femicide as a separate crime punishable by life imprisonment, as well as a series of other measures to combat the phenomenon of gender violence and offer support to victims. All 237 deputies voted in favor.
A unanimous position was also expected for the reform “on free and current consent” in the case of sexual violence, but the majority hindered it, turning around after the first ok sealed by the agreement between Giorgia Meloni and Elly Schlein.
From life imprisonment to aggravating circumstances: changes with the law on femicide
The new law on femicide provides for life imprisonment for anyone who kills a woman as “an act of hatred or discrimination or abuse or as an act of control or possession or domination as a woman, or in relation to the woman’s refusal to establish or maintain an emotional relationship or as an act of limitation of her individual freedoms is punishable by life imprisonment”.
The text also introduces a series of aggravating circumstances with more severe penalties for injuries, sexual violence, stalking, mistreatment, termination of pregnancy without consent and revenge porn if the act arises from hatred or control over the woman.
Another novelty concerns crimes of domestic and gender violence for which a presumption of adequacy of custodial measures will be triggered. This means that imprisonment and house arrest become the rule, while the limit of the approach ban increases from 500 to 1000 meters.
Among the highlights of the law are the exclusion of Code Red crimes from the 45-day limit for wiretaps and anti-rape drugs; it will be easier to identify the victim’s intake of narcotic substances and demonstrate their administration to use it as evidence in court to ascertain the violence.
Stop secondary victimization and more training to support victims of violence
Furthermore, the newly approved law provides greater protection for orphans of femicide and introduces annual courses on the phenomenon of gender violence and judicial stereotypes for magistrates and health sector workers. The judge will therefore be called upon to prevent questions and assumptions that damage the dignity of the offended person to prevent him from becoming the object of secondary victimization during the trial.
Clash over the reform of “free and current consensus”
It was almost a given that yesterday the reform on free and current consent in the case of sexual violence, on which there had been a bipartisan agreement between the right and the centre-left, was also approved.
But there was a twist in the courtroom. The League, Fratelli d’Italia and Forza Italia blocked the approval, saying they disagreed in particular on the passage which says that “in less serious cases the punishment is reduced by no more than two thirds”.
We could have celebrated two battles of civilization on a highly symbolic day for women, but we will have to wait for the reform of consent.
