Overview
- The Chamber of Deputies approved Article 577 unanimously after earlier Senate passage, allowing the measure to enter into force.
- The statute defines femicide as killing a woman because of her gender, out of hatred, or to suppress her rights and freedoms, with life imprisonment possible.
- The package also increases penalties for stalking and for distributing fabricated videos, and it pledges more support for shelters and anti‑violence services.
- Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni endorsed the law as a defense of women's freedom and dignity, while opposition leaders backed it but urged stronger prevention efforts.
- A separate bill to codify explicit, ongoing consent in sexual‑offence cases was stalled by coalition partners, leaving that reform unresolved.