New York / Rome, November 23, 2020. – Italy’s Chamber of Deputies approved an anti-discrimination bill that makes violence against women and LGBTI people a hate crime, increasing prison terms for perpetrators of such attacks.

The bill would be an extension of an existing law that punishes offences based on someone’s race or religion with up to four years in jail, and would also make violence against disabled people a hate crime. Additionally, it would permit an increase in funding for groups that work to fight against discrimination and assist people who are the victims of it.

The bill was passed by 265 votes to 193 in the 630-member Chamber of Deputies on November 4 and now needs approval from the Senate, where it is backed by the ruling coalition parties, before becoming law.

PGA member Senator Alessandra Maiorino has expressed her support for the bill, stating:

Italy has been waiting for this bill for too long. While we have witnessed an increasing awareness in the country about discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, on the other hand there are certain circles in the Italian society who strongly try to deny or minimize the problem and spread pseudoscientific theories according to which homosexuality is a behavioral disorder which can and must be cured. This approach mortifies the LGBTI community in Italy and leaves them even more exposed to exclusion, mocking, verbal abuse and physical aggression, as demonstrated by the terrible story of Maria Paola Gaglione, a 22-year-old girl in love with Ciro Migliore, a transgender boy her age. Maria Paola was killed by her brother because – he affirmed – she had been “infected” by Ciro with his disease and their family could not bear the “shame”.

The LGBTI community needs adequate means of protection by the State, and that is what we are going to do. Since we already have a law against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality or religion, we are simply going to extend article 604 bis and ter of the Criminal Code to discrimination based on sex, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity. On the other hand, misogyny is a well-recognized issue. Women are too often criticized or insulted for their gender rather than their opinions or capabilities. This bill has therefore a great cultural value as well, as it aims not only to punish but to spread a message of mutual respect in society.

LGBTI advocacy groups say homophobia is a serious problem in Italy and have long complained that homophobic and transphobic attacks are tried on lesser charges than racist assaults. Italy’s largest LGBTI rights group, Arcigay, registers more than 100 hate crime and discrimination cases each year.

The passing of the bill in the Chamber of Deputies comes after a series of high-profile attacks against gay and transgender people. In September, Maria Paola Gaglione, 22, was killed after her brother rammed his vehicle into the motor scooter she was riding on with her transgender partner, Ciro Migliore, in Naples. The brother, who has been charged with manslaughter, told investigators he did not intend to kill his sister but instead wanted to “teach her a lesson” over the relationship. In late June, a 25-year-old man was brutally attacked by a gang of seven people as he walked hand in hand with his boyfriend in the Adriatic city of Pescara.

Italy has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, among other international human rights treaties, and is a member state of the Equal Rights Coalition, an intergovernmental group that protects the rights of LGBTI people.