Italy approves new law defining femicide as a distinct crime

Italy’s lower house of parliament has unanimously backed a landmark law that formally recognises femicide — the killing of a woman because of her gender — as a separate criminal offence punishable by life imprisonment.

The vote, held on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, marks one of the most decisive political responses to gender-based killings in the country’s recent history.

While calls for a femicide law have circulated for years, momentum surged after the brutal killing of 22-year-old Giulia Cecchettin in 2022. She was stabbed by her former boyfriend, Filippo Turetta, who disposed of her body by a lakeside before being arrested.

The crime dominated national headlines. But it was Giulia’s sister, Elena, who galvanised public opinion when she declared that the killer was not a monster but the product of a deeply patriarchal society. Her message sparked nationwide protests and forced politicians to confront gender-based violence.

The new legislation, championed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, places Italy among a handful of EU countries — including Cyprus, Malta and Croatia — that explicitly classify femicide in law.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum supported the measure, many wearing red as a tribute to victims.

Under the law, murders of women driven by hatred, discrimination, control, domination or punishment — including killings after a woman ends a relationship — will be recorded and treated as femicide, triggering an automatic life sentence.

Judge Paola di Nicola, a member of the expert commission that studied 211 killings of women to shape the law, said the change allows Italy to confront the true motives behind such violence.

Giulia’s father, Gino Cecchettin, is cautious about claims that the new law could have changed his daughter’s fate — her murderer already received a life sentence.

But he believes naming the problem matters.

Mr Cecchettin has since established a foundation in Giulia’s name, focusing on education and the emotional development of young men. He argues that preventing violence begins in classrooms, not courtrooms.

Not all experts believe the law will be straightforward to implement.

Italy currently ranks 85th globally in gender equality. A temporary exhibition in Rome, the Museum of the Patriarchy, uses immersive storytelling — from loudspeakers mimicking street harassment to walls covered in the names of murdered women — to highlight the wider crisis.

All 237 deputies present voted in favour of the bill, ending a long parliamentary session with applause and a pledge that violence against women “will not go unpunished”.