What does the Italian Hate Crime Bill really mean for personal freedom?

by Camille Saunders

Last year, the Italian parliament’s lower house approved a progressive bill that would classify all acts of violence based on gender, sexual orientation or disability as a hate-crime. This was nicknamed the Zan bill, after Alessandro Zan, who is both a lawmaker for the Democratic Party and a queer rights activist. However, since its proposal, the Zan bill has faced criticism from many groups claiming that it is an attack on religious freedoms, rather than a defence of personal ones.

A year on, Italy’s senate has voted 154 to 131 to block any further debate on the bill for the next six months, leading Reuters to report that “centre-left lawmakers believe it will be impossible to approve it before the legislature expires early in 2023.”[1]

Zan himself described the outcome as “a betrayal of a political pact that wanted the country to take a step towards civilisation” on Twitter, saying “È stato tradito un patto politico che voleva far fare al Paese un passo di civiltà.”[2]The general secretary of Arcigay, an Italian LGBTQ+ rights group blames the state for “once again turning the other way”, saying “shame on everyone else” who rejected the bill. (More about the Arcigay rights group, their vision, and their work can be found on their website here: https://www.arcigay.it/en/chi-siamo/#.YXxGD57MI2w)

Those defending the rejection on the grounds of personal liberties include right wing extremists, such as the leader of Italy’s League party Matteo Salvini, who has repeatedly referred to the bill as the “gagging law”, and complained that under the proposed legislation “those that think a mum is a mum, and a dad is a dad”[3]would by default be sent to prison. Andrea Ostellari, another League party member of the senate, and, crucially, the president of the senate’s Justice Committee, delayed the vote on the second bill for almost as long as Italian senate law would allow. This conservative ideology is encouraged by the complacency of the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, who has allowed abrasive misogynist, ableist, and homophobic rhetoric spread its spores throughout his party since the beginning of this debate. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper earlier this year[4], Zan complained that the bill was “being held hostage by the president”, who, despite being from the left-leaning[5]Christian Democracy party, refused to schedule the vote due the dissent of various members of his party.

Crucially, however, the argument of impeded liberties, namely that of religious liberty, is a stance strongly supported by the Vatican itself. Some argue that this is out of fear of being prosecuted for their open opposition to same-sex marriage, though same-sex civil union was legalised in Italy in 2016, or that the bill would condemn them for opposing adoption by LGBTQ+ families. Furthermore, the bill would require Catholic schools in Italy to dedicate one day a year to fighting homophobia and transphobia, with which the Vatican disagrees. However, this contrasts starkly to Pope Francis’ comments in 2020 that “[homosexual people] are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or made miserable over it. What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered.”[6]One might argue that what could legally cover queer couples even more acutely is a bill set out specifically to protect them, in public places, in the workplace, and from domestic abuse within families. Despite having told Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim of sexual abuse by priests in Chile as punishment for his sexuality, that “God made you this way and he loves you”[7], it appears that the pope is still forgiving diversity in sexual orientation rather than embracing or celebrating it. Furthermore, while Cruz described the pontiff’s comments as “by no means fake or false”, given the chance to put protection from violence into the law, he has instead chosen to officially oppose it.

Furthermore, the anti-misogyny portion of the bill is crucial to the protection of women’s rights in Italy, a country with an epidemic of discrimination against women in all sectors of society. Not only have the number of cases of sexual violence reported to the police increased in recent years to 4,884 in 2019 according to a Statista study[8]in crime and law enforcement, with over 1,000 of these being reported in the region of Lombardy alone, but the estimated figures are significantly higher due to Italy’s controversial aspect of rape cases being the mandatory ‘querela’. This means that the rape victim must make a formal request to the state to press charges against their attacker, and cannot withdraw their charges under any circumstances.[9]Given that harassment, bullying, backlash, prejudice, threats, blackmail and slander are all very real fears of rape victims when reporting an assault, this clause dissuades thousands of women from reporting sexual misconduct every year. Furthermore, the practice of ‘dissmissioni in bianco’ or a ‘blank resignation’ was not only legal until the New Jobs Act in 2016, but commonplace in the majority of businesses and companies across Italy. This was a requirement for employees to fill out a resignation notice at the time of hiring. Not only is this ominous in itself, but the date was to be left blank, and the vast majority of these employees were women. This meant that if she became pregnant, it was common for an employer to simply fill in the date on the resignation notice and file it, effectively legally firing her for being a liability to the workforce.[10]

From an academic perspective, the newspaper Wanted In Rome describes this discrimination as deeply rooted in Italian culture:

“Italy is a deeply religious Catholic country, and the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of its most cherished figures. On streets, in homes, and in churches and cathedrals, Mary is honoured through art, shrines, and religious jewellery.

As such, the importance of the mother is manifest in the Italian family model, where the mother is cherished as a beacon of matronly warmth and nurturing. The idea of the Italian mother has turned into an international stereotype – a strong, capable woman who spends her days cooking for doting children. Though respect for women appears to be a natural facet of Italian culture, in reality, Italy has a long history of sexism – and its effects are alive and well in modern society.”[11]

Regardless of its origins in traditionalist Italian society, or beliefs about the religious freedom of the Catholic Church in Italy, the Zan Bill ultimately seeks to protect the human rights of Italy’s marginalised groups who face risks of discrimination and violence in every aspect of their lives. The viral videos of the dozens of right wing men in the Senate cheering, whooping and clapping as the bill was rejected is a stain on Italian politics, and, for the victims of these crimes in Italy, it may take an impossibly long time for them to trust their government again.

by Camille Saunders

Photo credits: GCN Magazine, Italian senate rejects anti-homophobia hate crime bill

[1]Reuters Europe, ‘Italian upper house Senate brings down LGBT+ protection bill’, Angelo Amante, October 27^th, 2021 3:28PM BST https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-upper-house-senate-brings-down-lgbt-protection-bill-2021-10-27/

[2+3] Pink News, ‘Italy blocks hate crime bill after unprecedented opposition from Vatican and far right’, Lily Wakefield, October 27^th, 2021 - https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/10/27/italy-lgbt-rights-zan-bill-hate-crime/

[4]The Guardian, ‘Far right puts brakes on a new law that aims to stamp out homophobia in Italy’, Angela Giuffrida, April 4^th, 2021, 10.00 BST - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/04/far-right-puts-brakes-on-a-new-law-that-aims-to-stamp-out-homophobia-in-italy

[5]Wikipedia, ‘Sergio Mattarella’, last edited October 28^th, 2021 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Mattarella

[6]BBC News Europe, ‘Pope Francis indicates support for same-sex civil unions’, Analysis by Mark Lowen, Rome Correspondent October 21^st, 2020 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54627625

[7]BBC News Latin America, ‘Pope Francis tells gay Chilean sex abuse victim ‘God loves you’’, May 22^nd, 2018 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-44215996

[8]Statista, 'Number of Sexual Violence Cases Reported to the Authorities in Italy', Statista Research Department, October 4th 2021 - https://www.statista.com/statistics/1071323/number-of-sexual-violence-reported-to-the-authorities-in-italy/

[9+10+11]Wanted In Rome, ‘Sexism in Italy: a cultural phenomenon’, February 9^th, 2021 - https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/sexism-in-italy-a-cultural-phenomenon.html