Italian parliamentarians have unanimously voted to introduce the crime of femicide - the killing of a woman based on gender - as a separate law punishable by life imprisonment, the BBC reports, writes UNN.
Details
Symbolically, the bill was approved on the day dedicated to the elimination of violence against women worldwide.
The idea of a femicide law had been discussed in Italy before, but the murder of Giulia Cecchettin by her ex-boyfriend became a tragedy that shocked the country and forced it to act.
In late November 2023, the 22-year-old girl was stabbed by Filippo Turetta, who then wrapped her body in bags and dumped it on the shore of a lake.
Thousands of people gathered at the church where Giulia Cecchettin's funeral took place to pay their respects in December 2023.
The murder was headline news until he was caught, but it was the powerful reaction of Giulia's sister, Elena, that remained in memory.
The killer was not a monster, she said, but a "healthy son" of a deeply patriarchal society. These words brought crowds across Italy to the streets, demanding change.
Two years later, Italian parliamentarians voted for the femicide law after a long and passionate parliamentary session. This makes Italy one of the few places where femicide is classified as a separate crime.
Proposed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the law was supported by her own far-right government, as well as opposition MPs. Many wore red ribbons or red jackets to commemorate the victims of violence.
From now on, Italy will register every murder of a woman motivated by her gender as femicide.
"Femicides will be classified, they will be studied in their real context, they will exist," said Judge Paola di Nicola, one of the authors of the new law, about the significance of the new law.
"To speak of such crimes as those rooted in enraged love or strong jealousy is a distortion that uses romantic, culturally acceptable terms," the judge argues.
"This law means that we will be the first in Europe to reveal the true motivation of criminals, namely hierarchy and power," she noted.
Addition
Italy will now join Cyprus, Malta, and Croatia as EU member states that have introduced a legal definition of femicide in their criminal codes.