Italy Establishes Femicide as Specific Crime with Life Imprisonment Penalty: A Landmark Legal Reform

Italian lawmakers have unanimously approved legislation that classifies femicide—the deliberate killing of women or girls—as a distinct criminal offense carrying a life sentence.

On Tuesday, the Italian parliament voted 237-0 in favor of a bill that establishes femicide as a specific category of homicide "based on the characteristics of the victim," according to the legislation's explanatory documentation.

Previously, Italian legal code only recognized aggravating circumstances in homicide cases where the perpetrator was related to or married to the victim, without specifically addressing gender-based violence.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni celebrated the unanimous vote, describing the new measure as an essential instrument to "defend the freedom and dignity of every woman."

The government-proposed legislation, which had already received Senate approval in July, creates a new article in the penal code mandating life imprisonment for acts intended to cause a woman's death "out of discrimination, hatred or violence" among other motivations.

This legislative development coincided with the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, during which the UN released troubling statistics indicating approximately 50,000 women and girls worldwide died at the hands of partners or family members last year.

According to Italy's national statistics institute (Istat), women and girls accounted for 116 of the 327 homicides recorded in the country during 2024, with men identified as the perpetrators in 92.2 percent of these cases.