Italy Officially Makes Femicide A Crime With Life Imprisonment

Italy’s lawmakers on Tuesday passed new legislation that formally classifies femicide as a distinct crime within the nation’s penal code, making it punishable by life in prison.

The decision came on the same day as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, an annual observance created by the UN General Assembly.

The bill passed comfortably in the Lower Chamber, earning cross-party backing from both the centre-right ruling bloc and the centre-left opposition, with 237 votes in support.

Promoted by Premier Giorgia Meloni’s conservative administration, the measure addresses a surge in murders and assaults targeting women across the country. It further introduces tougher penalties for related gender-based offences, including stalking and revenge porn.

Public outrage over cases such as the 2023 killing of university student Giulia Cecchettin has intensified national discussions surrounding the systemic roots of violence against women in Italy.

“We have doubled funding for anti-violence centres and shelters, promoted an emergency hotline and implemented innovative education and awareness-raising activities,” Meloni said Tuesday.

“These are concrete steps forward, but we won’t stop here. We must continue to do much more, every day.”

Although the centre-left parties endorsed the legislation, they argued that the administration’s focus remains narrowly concentrated on punishment and fails to confront the deeper economic and societal inequalities that contribute to violence.

Data from Istat, Italy’s national statistics agency, shows 106 femicides recorded in 2024, with 62 carried out by current or former partners.

Meanwhile, discussions around introducing sex and emotional-development education in schools as a preventive tool have sparked fierce debate.

A government-backed proposal seeks to prohibit such lessons for younger pupils and make them available to older students only if parents grant explicit permission.

Supporters within the ruling coalition claim the policy safeguards children from ideological influence, while critics in the opposition and activist community have denounced the idea as “medieval.”

“Italy is one of only seven countries in Europe where sex and relationship education is not yet compulsory in schools, and we are calling for it to be compulsory in all school cycles,” said the head of Italy’s Democratic Party, Elly Schlein. “Repression is not enough without prevention, which can only start in schools.”