Statement by President Meloni on femicide as a crime in its own right

Today, the Government has taken another step forward in the systematic efforts it has been making ever since coming to office to combat violence against women and to protect victims. The Council of Ministers has approved an extremely significant draft law which introduces femicide as a crime in its own right within our legal system, punishable with life imprisonment, and provides for aggravating circumstances and harsher punishments for the crimes of personal abuse, stalking, sexual violence and revenge porn. I consider these regulations to be very important, and we were determined to introduce them in order to boost the fight against this intolerable scourge. I wish to thank the Ministers who worked on this measure, enabling us to achieve this important result on the eve of International Women’s Day.

[Courtesy translation]