Honour Related Violence in Italy - National Report - HASP Project
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Honour Related Violence in Italy
National Report
This report has been produced with the financial support of the Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) Programme (2014-2020) of
the European Union. The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of the implementing partnership and can in no way be tak -
en to reflect the views of the European Commission.
1
Output code: O 1.1
Responsible: Fondazione Risorsa Donna
Version: 2.0
Versions history
Version n° Date Authors Quality check
v. 1.0 31/01/2017 Simonetta Bormioli, Maria Claudia Fabrizio Paloni
Costantini, Maria Paola Costantini,
Diana Oancea and has collaborated
Giulia Pederzini
v. 2.0 02/05/2017 Simonetta Bormioli, Maria Claudia Fabrizio Paloni
Costantini, Maria Paola Costantini,
Diana Oancea and has collaborated
Giulia Pederzini
This publication is available on the website www.hasp-project.eu
2
Table of contents
Introduction 5
THE ITALIAN CONTEXT 7
Where Italy stands on the subject of gender equality 7
The definition of VAW (violence against women) and HRV (honour related violence) 10
The situation of VAW and of HRV 11
The data and information collection 13
The ongoing debate that raised in society and in mass media 16
Recent research and studies on the subject 16
2. THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK 20
Premise 20
2.1. Brief historical evolution and definition of crimes committed for honour related reasons 20
2.2. The transposition of International and European Legislation 22
2.3. The definition of Honour related crimes 25
2.4. Italian Legislation on Violence Against Women 26
2.4.1 Legal protection in cases of violence 28
2.4.2. Set of Norms on the topic of forced marriage 29
2.4.3. The Italian legislation on the so called shotgun marriage 31
2.4.4. The Italian legislation on convenience marriages 31
2.4.5. The Italian legislation on child marriages 31
2.4.6. The content of the Special Action Plan on gender and against sexual violence– May
2015 31
2.4. The Regional Legislation in Italy 33
2.5. The Italian Jurisdiction 37
2.6. Conclusions and Final Reflections 39
3. POLICIES AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 41
3.1 Competent National Institutions and Authorities on VAW and HRV 41
3.2 The Implementation of the Special Action Plan against gender-based and sexual violence
42
3.3 The Jurisdiction of Regions and Municipalities 43
3.4 The specific measures adopted at national, regional and local level 44
3.4.1 National Anti-violence network in support of women victims of violence 44
3.4.2 The agreement Protocol between ANCI and the Association D.I.Re 44
3.4.3 The local Protocols to develop anti-violence networks at local level 44
3.5 The Financial Resources system 45
4 Responses to VAW and HRV 47
4.1 Services offered by national institutions 47
4.1.1 Numbers of public utility 47
4.1.2 Social and Healthcare related Services 48
4.1.3 Social Assistance Services 50
4.1.4 Police and military forces 51
4.2 The answers given to the phenomenon by organizations of civil society 52
4.3 The Role of Mass Media 54
5 More activities for combating VAW and HRV 56
3
5.1. Prevention and Awareness activities 56
5.3. Programs and Initiatives for schools and universities 59
5.4. Programs and Initiatives concerning the actors of violence 60
5.5. Programs and initiatives to combat VAW that focus on the target groups 61
6 Concluding Remarks 63
6.1. Elements of assessment 63
6.2. Some Recommendations 64
6.3. Some Good Practices 67
References 70
ATTACHMENTS TO THE NATIONAL REPORT
➢ Institutions, Associations and National Competent Organisms on the matter of VAW e HRV
➢ Questionnaires used during the empiric phase and other materials
➢ List of qualified informants interviewed
➢ List of participants in the Focus Groups
➢ Summary Table on Italian legislation on the matter of gender violence (Excel)
4
Introduction
The HASP project - Honour Ambassadors against Shame Practices, by adopting an approach
based on gender, aspires to contribute to the fight against honor based crimes in five EU countries:
Italy, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria and the UK. These represent highly differentiated environments in
terms of geographical, social and cultural characteristics, within which the episodes of violence
linked to honor are equally differentiated, due to multiple factors.
The project is structures in: a preliminary phase of research, a training phase and a last phase
directed to spread awareness on the subject.
The first phase, of which this report is the result, focused on the conduction of researches
regarding the situation, of gender-based violence and in particular of honor related crimes. Similar
researches have been conducted in all partner countries (Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, UK, Greece), and
the results will be combined to prepare a comparative report.
This report will represent the starting point that will support the second phase - training activities
orienting the social workers, law enforcement and social mediators. It will also contribute to the
third phase increasing the levels of awareness of women and children that belong to the target
groups (different depending on the partner country). In the case of Italy, this last phase will involve
the communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Roma.
Fondazione Risorsa Donna, one of the Italian partners in the project, oversaw the research with
regard to honor killings in Italy, with a focus on the communities that will be assessed in the third
phase.
From a methodological point of view, it was adopted a qualitative approach. After a first phase of
documents analysis, interviews were carried out with key stakeholders (experts, practitioners,
academics and researchers) and it was organized a focus group dedicated specifically to the
communities from Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Preliminary, the research examined the regulatory and legislative environment on gender-based
violence in Italy.
By the use of semi-structured interviews, the following aspects were examined: phenomenology,
institutional and policy instruments, services, programs, prevention, training initiatives, partnership
initiatives, the role of social services, industry health and law enforcement.
Respondents were also asked to express themselves by using examples of good practice, as well
as by mentioning important papers on the subject. An evaluation of the responses was requested,
focusing on the national level (centrally and peripherally), regarding the VAW and HRV phenomena
and the prevention programs implemented by public and private entities, as well as it was
requested to point out any recommendations for the improvement of the situation.
5
The following is a summary table of the interviews by type of qualified stakeholders
Typology n. Interviews
Institutions, local authorities, law enforcement, 4
health and social services
Associations, anti-violence centers, third sector, 4
civil society organizations (CSOs)
Vulnerable Groups’ representatives (Pakistan, 4
Bangladesh, RSC)
Representatives responsible for data collection 2
Experts, Academics 4
This report presents the results of the research carried out by the team of the Fondazione Risorsa
Donna1 in Italy.
1. THE ITALIAN CONTEXT
1.1.Where Italy stands on the subject of gender equality
1This Report has been written by Fondazione Risorsa Donna’s team, composed by: Simonetta Bormioli,
Maria Claudia Costantini, Maria Paola Costantini, Diana Oancea and has collaborated Giulia Pederzini.
6
To understand the phenomenology of gender based violence and more specifically the one related
to honour, it is vital to illustrate the situation of gender equality and the level of social inclusion of
the three target groups in Italy.
The last Gender Equality Index (EIGE 2016) attributes to Italy, for the period of time 2005-2015, a
score for gender equality (the calculation is the combination of the amount of income, level of
education, amount of time available, level of power and health), below the European average:
44,6 points out of 100 in EU-28.
The Global gender gap report 2016 (Word Economic Forum 2016) ranks Italy at the 50th place
among 144 countries (in 2015 Italy was at the 41st place). This result derives from an analysis that
takes into consideration various factors, from the incredibly low rate of women’s participation in the
labour market (47,2% compared to the EU average of 60,4% in 2015), to the still marginal
presence of women in high profile positions in the public institutions, academic, economic and
industry world. Another factor that has been taken into account is the still very significant gender
pay gap between men and women. It also appears extremely difficult for women to conciliate the
non-paid domestic work with their day time job. In Italy, in fact women spend 315 minutes per day
in domestic work, while men spend only 104 minutes of their time in it. In the last few years some
positive signs of change became apparent, which are related to the increase of the female
component on the board of administration of public and private firms (27,3% compared to the 20%
of the EU average), in managerial positions of the public administration (29% compared to the 21%
of the EU average), and in the female composition of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate
(31%).From the study conducted by the European Council (2013), derives that the progresses
made between the 90’s and the 2000’s can be attributed to the European Directives’ and the
necessary standards for gender equality that they pose, which are a prerequisite for access to
European funds, as well as to the activities that since 2011 were pursued from women’s
organizations to fight old gender stereotypes, still very strong in politics and mass media.
➔ The immigrant community
Since the early 90’s the combination of the rising immigrant waves with the “Golden Italy” myth (still
very strong in Bangladesh), the Bengali community2,represents the eighth non-communitarian
ethnic group in Italy, counting 142.403 people, one fourth of which (about 28.000) resides in Rome.
The Pakistani community3 represents the tenth non-communitarian ethnic group in the country
counting 122.884 people. The internal gender composition of both communities is fairly
disproportionate. In the Bengali’s, women are about the 28, 4% of the total population, while in
the Pakistani’s make up 30, 4%. Another similarity is that in both cases, women arrived to Italy
after the male components (from 2000). Minors represent the 27, 3% of the Pakistani migration
wave, and the 23% of the Bengali one. Between all the reasons that motivate people of the last
group (women and minors) to migrate, family reunification is statistically at first place (31% for
the Pakistani and 35, 7% for the Bengali community). On second place it is the application for
asylum and humanitarian protection (59, 4% for the Pakistani and 47, 7% for the Bengali
community), while on third place have been registered employment permits (6, 6% Pakistan and 9,
6% Bangladesh). Pakistani immigrants reside mainly in Lombardia (36, 8%), while Bengali citizens
mainly in Lazio (28, 1%).
The educational level is high or average, because the migration process initially involved the highly
educated members of the communities (ISTAT 2016), and only at a latter period of time the
immigrants from rural and depressed areas came, something which is particularly true for the
Bengali community (Priori 2011, 2012, Della Puppa 2012, Bisio 2013, Pepicelli 2015).
2http://www.integrazionemigranti.gov.it/Areetematiche/PaesiComunitari-e-associazioniMigranti/Documents/
RAPPORTI_COMUNITA_2016/ES_BANGLADESH_DEF.pdf.
3http://www.integrazionemigranti.gov.it/Areetematiche/PaesiComunitari-e-associazioniMigranti/Documents/
RAPPORTI_COMUNITA_2016/ES_PAKISTAN_DEF.pdf.
7
The reunified wives of both communities live in a condition of isolation and disorientation,
because the majority of them got married by proxy and then they were brought in a complete
different and new context, usually living in worse conditions than the ones that were originally
promised. They may be forced to live in precarious house accommodations (apartments shared
with other families), lack of legal contracts or of people they can rely on in the country. Therefore,
they are vulnerable in a city they do not know unable to speak the language, without any sort of
working perspective (despite the good level of education). In some instances there have been
cases, where the husband remarries a second time with a younger woman, that comes from the
country of origin and appears imposed to the older wife and her children, under the threat of
repatriation. Both of the communities appear, closed to transformations and changes. They are
interested to preserve and reinforce their traditions to consolidate their identity. Of course this
process has become the incubator for forms of religious radicalizations (re-islamization), which is
completely different from fundamentalism. Religious radicalization is connected to the creation of
new religious practices and traditions that appear not to exist in the countries of origin, and that
usually impact the relationship between genders (Priori 2011, 2012, Della Puppa 2012, Bisio 2013,
Pepicelli 2015).
Under these conditions, the relationships that these women and their daughters, have with the
new territories are filtered by their family members and the local representatives of the
community. The Imams in particular implement forms of oppressive social control.
The activities that the women of these communities can carry out are mainly within the community.
The female work outside this context is very rare because their responsibilities are limited to
domestic care and their children education (“the woman that takes care of her family is to be
considered more Pakistani than the emancipated one”)4 . The elements of education that need to
be transmitted are the ones that form the identity of the group: the language, the culture, the
traditions and the religion5 . The rules that regulate marriage are monitored by the family members
(including the ones living in the country of origin), and almost always are shared and implemented
by the mothers, that represent the main actors in the control practices of their daughters
(they are more involved in this compared to the fathers). The men’s honourability and respect are
deeply related to the behavior and sexual integrity of the women in his family (mother, wife, sister,
and daughter). It is obvious that in this social context the second generation young women live in
a conflicted situation, between the traditions and models imposed by their families, and their
daily behaviors. Renata Pepicelli (2015) believes that a gradual change is occurring in these
women’s lives, with a progressive acquisition of more freedom, which often translate in the creation
of spontaneous or organized emancipation movements, also related to the recent
phenomenon of re-islamization (Pepicelli 2015).
The identity creation of many young Bengali and Pakistani women, born or raised in Italy and are
currently in their twenties, is characterized by their adhesion to new behavioral models that allow
them to better integrate the traditional behavioral pattern with the Italian identity, through a
deconstruction of their own traditional models of behavior.
➔ The Roma, Sinti and Caminanti Communities
In Italy the Roma, Sinti and Caminanti communities, are composed by a diversified group of people
with different nationalities (half of them are Italians), legal status, level of social inclusion, and
years of experience in the country. The community is comprised by 120 to 180.000 members (60%
are minors), of whom we lack certain information (ISTAT 2017, Cittalia 2016, ERRC 2014, 2016,
ERTF 2015, Bormioli 2014). Any generalization is potentially a vehicle of stereotypes and
prejudices that would increase the vulnerability of these communities, especially the ones that are
already living in precarious accommodation (about a third of the entire population), (Cittalia
2016, Associazione 21 luglio 2015 a,b, 2014) and uncertain legal status (in Italy Roma Apolids
4 Interview of Ejaz Ahmad (FRD 2016).
5 Some of the experts interviewed have highlighted that the uses and behaviors adopted by the communities
resident in the Italian territory, are not aligned with the Islamic norms, particularly the ones referring to the
relationships between genders.
8
are between the 15 and 30.000 people) (ISTAT 2017, ASGI 2015, Rozzi 2015). From the most
recent surveys it emerged that in municipalities with over 15.000 inhabitants the gipsy component
living in houses or equipped camps is of about 55%, and of 79% in small informal groups6 (Cittalia
2016, ISTAT 2017). Because of the economic crisis the life conditions of Roma women, especially
the ones living in precarious housing conditions have worsened on many levels. They find
themselves in a disadvantaged position, as far as their access to education and healthcare are
concerned and regarding the fact that they are obliged to become beggars in the streets and in
general the fact that they have uneasy access to fundamental rights, remain generation after
generation in a condition of poverty (poverty trap).
Within the patriarchy system that characterizes the gipsy community, women carry out
meaningful social-economical functions, because they don’t just take care of their families but in
many cases they also work. As confirmed by the last qualitative study conducted on Roma
population in 2011 in Italy (ERRC 2014, FRA 2014), the women of this community are still being
discriminated more than men when it comes to have access to jobs, servicers, institutions and
respect of their rights. Many sources have agreed on how Roma women are more likely to be
exposed to multiple kinds of discriminations within their own community, such as the higher
rate of school abandonment for girls compared to boys.
Also in the gipsy communities there have been registered changes and an emancipation process,
particularly regarding Roma girls, which impact the relationship between genders and the relative
dynamic of power.
1.2.The definition of VAW (violence against women) and HRV (honour related
violence)
The organizations and the institutions that work to fight gender-based violence, particularly
women’s crisis centers, were originally using the term violence against women, and only later on
they started using the different expression of gender-based violence. For the legal definition please
look at paragraph 2.
The definition of violence against women that is usually accepted by the general public is the one
contained in the Istanbul Convention7 . The reference to gender is directly related to the fact that
this practice represents a widespread and systematic violation of fundamental liberties and human
rights. According to gender studies experts, in Italy the expressions “violence against women” and
gender-based violence” have been many times used as synonyms, also by those that made a
particularly significant contribution to the feminist post-structuralism and queer theories (Carnino
2011).
Between 2012 and 2013 the international discussions on feminicide8 and on femminicide9, made
this last term becoming a part of the journalistic and political scene, as well as a locution commonly
6 Italy is famous in Europe as “the country of Camps”. Within these camps the life conditions are significantly
low and are a cause of isolation and segregation, depriving their inhabitant of their basic human rights
(ERRC 2014, Associazione 21 luglio 2014, 2015°, 2015b, Bormioli 2014).
7"violenceagainst women", is a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and
shall mean all acts of gender-based violation that result in, or are likely to result in physical, sexual,
psychological, or economic harm or suffering to women including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life". Istanbul Convention. http://
www.publicpolicy.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Convenzione_Istanbul_ violenza_donne.pdf.
8 Feminicide: criminological term used for the first time by Diana Russell in 1992, to not only describe
gender-based killings, but any form of violence and discrimination of a woman because she is a woman
(Kenny 2013).
9Femminicide: sociological term used for the first time by Marcela Lagarde, to indicate not only the killing of
a woman by a man, but most of all the existence of a social context that allows and permits the violence of
men against women, perpetrated in a structural way (Leda Kenny 2013).
9used by the general public. This linguistic change happened even though the rate in which the
phenomenon was occurring didn’t change, compared to the past.
The women’s movement started wondering about the reasons behind that sudden change in
media representation of the phenomenon (La Rocca 2014). Since 2005, many organizations such
as the Casa delle donne per non subire violenza of Bologna, have drafted research reports on
femminicide. To do so, they used the information collected by the press, because of the general
lack of data and statistics on the subject (Pramstrahler 2015).
The opinion of the scholars and of the women’s movement on the use of the term femminicide, is
that its use underlines, that violence against women is a direct consequence of gender-based
discrimination and stereotypical views in all fields (social, private and political) (Betti 2014). These
terms are often used inaccurately by the press, in support of the emergency rhetoric, which is
common when discussing violence against women (Tola 2014, La Rocca 2014).
It appears missing a unique, clear and definitive definition of honour related violence against
women, which is usually associated with domestic violence (as defined by the Istanbul
Convention10 ). The man’s honour is directly linked to his credibility, and to his power to control
and discipline women. Therefore when his credibility is ruined and as a reaction, he commits an
honour killing, the homicide falls into the category of femminicide (Garofalo 2012). Shotgun and
precocious marriages fall into the group of HRV (Danna 2011, Garofalo 2012).
It is generally known that honour related violence it is one of those elements that reaffirms the
gender models on which the social order is built.
1.3. The situation of VAW and of HRV
Some experts believe that in the last few years in Italy, the rate of gender based violence has
dramatically increased. This is due to the fact, that the idea of dominance and male supremacy
which used to be at the basis of the concept of family has declined. In addition to this from the
sixties, many religious values have been progressively abandoned, as women became more
empowered professionally and in their personal life11 (Bartholini 2015; Valentini 2013).
In the last twenty years, the activities carried out by women’s associations, directed to raise
awareness on the risks of gender-based violence, resulted in encouraging more women to ask for
help and increased the rate of charges pressed against the perpetrators of these vicious acts. In
this way, this phenomenon has emerged more compared to the past, although most of the violence
against women remains hidden (90% of the cases of violence are still buried).
Only recently, the cases of crimes related to honour became again a topic of discussion. This is
mainly due to the noise made by recent femminicides cases, committed by Pakistani immigrants.
The 2006 homicide of Hina Saleem, and the 2010 killing of Begm Shnez. In the first case, the
victim was killed by her father and the relatives of the victim. In the second case, the husband and
the victim’s father killed the woman and hurt her daughter.
10 Istanbul Convention (art.3): “violence against women” is understood as a violation of human rights and a
form of discrimination against women and shall mean all acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are
likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats
of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
11 Women’s emancipation is symbolically represented in the case of Franca Viola , who was the first woman
from Alcamo, a small town in Sicily, that in 1965 refused to marry her rapist (shotgun marriage) asking for the
trial to go on. This case had a lot of visibility, resulting particularly shocking that certain archaic norms (for
example the one on killings for honour related reasons) were still exiting, despite being clearly against the
Constitution, the social changes that were occurring and women’s freedom. (Bartholini 2015, Valentini 2015).
10The talk on honour related violence sets back the clock to an earlier time, where the defense of
one’s honour was considered an asset to be protected (Bimbi 2015). This is a great difference to
what happens in North European countries, where there was never such a legal concept, so these
phenomenon are viewed with great cultural shock (Danna 2012).
As illustrated in paragraph 2, in Italy the term honour has always been founded on the premise that
the woman’s behavior and sexuality should be controlled and eventually sanctioned, when found
inappropriate. This happened for a long time, up until the Family Reform Law took place and
changed what in the 1942 Civil Code, was still legitimating the male authority and control of
women. For the exclusion from the Criminal Code of the category of honour killing and the
institution of reparatory marriage, we will have to wait until 1981.
Violence against women is a transversal phenomenon that takes place in all nationalities, social
classes and groups. This obviously include immigrant women from Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In these cases, the differences to Italian and immigrant women, are related to the diverse level of
social integration. In general, relationships between genders are opposed and the contact they are
allowed to have with the public is reduced to the minimum, as a result of the control and social
repression imposed by their habits and costumes (Danna 2012). The female components of the
community, usually embrace this way of thinking (mothers towards their daughters), (Bisio 2013) to
avoid potential acquisition of foreigner social models, considered dangerous and destabilizing. The
practice of arranged marriage, involves most of the daughters raised in Italy (in some instances
the spouses can see each other or speak to each other before the wedding day). This institution
still represents an incubator of many form of violence; physical, sexual, psychological and
economical, many times not correctly identified as such by the victims. In fact, they usually
consider it, an inevitable life experience as wives and mothers. In the rare cases, where the
violence is correctly identified, it does not become a topic of discussion because it is still perceived
as a taboo.
Women in the Bengali and Pakistani culture, have limited access to some services, including
healthcare or family planning services. They cannot work, learn our language, or have the same
education opportunities. In order to preserve their honorability, many times these women are
forced to get their education in the countries of origin.
The female components of these communities live in very delicate situations and of great
reduction in their ability to act. They do not have a support system surrounding them, they
depend financially on their husbands, they have difficulties in having access to the legal and health
services, as well as asking for help to the women’s crisis centers, afraid they will lose their
residency permit. Any dispute that raises, needs to be dealt by and within the community. The
decision making is in the hands of influential elders, that have power to control and sanction.
Women from the second generation, usually live this situation in a very conflicted way, being stuck
between the idea of emancipating themselves and going against their community believe system.
Since 2008, the condition of women in Roma, Sinti and Caminanti communities has gotten
worse, and the episodes of domestic and family violence against them have increased. Violence
against women is still considered a taboo. Facing it, could put at risk the community identity
(Genova, Sacchetta 2013) and result in a stigmatization of the victims, that could be separated and
deprived of the group’s support (Bova 2013). It is still very difficult to have conclusive data on VAW
in the Roma community, and the few that we have come from a 2011 research conducted by the
European Center for Roma rights (ERRC). The results of this research, concluded that in our
country more than 90% of the women interviewed had been abused by the husband, 26% had
experienced physical violence, degrading act, racial discrimination or sexual harass from the
police (ERRC 2012). Roma women live in a particularly difficult situation, because in addition to the
discriminations coming from their own community, they face numerous outside obstacles, due to
the discriminations and prejudices of the police forces and social and healthcare operators.
Other European surveys on human being trafficking, pointed out that many Roma women were
part of the massive sexual exploitation, of women coming from east European countries. In Italy
there have also been registered, many cases of male minor prostitutes, coming from particularly
degraded groups (Wagener, Milligan 2015, Save the children 2014, 2015, 2016). The practice of
11arranged or early marriages, is consistent with the patriarchal social structures of these
communities, where women do not have almost any decisional power, and depend on their
families and are forced to obey to their community’s rules (EP 2013, Corradi 2013). The average
age of women to get married has increased (now days it is around 16 years old12 , even though it is
difficult to precisely determine it, because frequently Roma marriage celebration are not followed
by any administrative registration (fact marriage). Because of the isolation, segregation and
discrimination these women live in, they view marriage as a fundamental priority and aspiration
in their lives. In some instances, arranged marriages have the purpose to create connections
between different groups. The spouses parents stipulate a contract (transnational functions) 13 ,
which contains details on the price of the bride (depending on age, virginity, ability of the bride to
produce resources for the family) (Delle Donne 2013, Civico Zero 2013). Also in the Roma, Sinti
and Caminanti communities, the resolution of family disputes is in the hands of an informal
institute of justice named KRISS. The cases evaluation (also the ones of family violence), the
formulation of the judgement and the determination of the sanctions, are a responsibility of a group
of elder. This group is formed by people coming from different countries (recently including
women). After working on the cases for several days, its decisions are recognized and respected
from the entire community.
1.4. The data and information collection
After the main international events occurred twenty years ago on the topic of gender equality,
many feminist organizations have repeatedly denounced the lack of data and information on the
subject of gender-based violence, and asked for more funds. For several years in fact, the data
collection was almost exclusively carried out by various women’s association in a non-uniform way.
The episodes registered on a local and national level by Casa delle donne di Bologna since 2005,
have been between 120 and 170 per year (one every two and three days). The involvement of the
partner (or ex-partner), was found in 65,8% of the cases. The violence was against Italian women
in 79,4% of the cases (2015).
In 2016, the feminicide cases registered from Casa delle donne have been 117 (a number that is
close to the rate of 2008, and less than what was registered for 2009 and 2013), 30% of these
women have had previously reported episodes of violence. The total amount of women killed, over
the past ten years has been 1.274 (Casa delle donne 2015). In 2012, during the Convention No-
More some organizations that were already fighting violence against women 14, asked the Council
of Ministry and other governmental institutions to define a more homogeneous data collection
system. A data collection system that would be more complete on a national level (including the
participation of police forces, social and healthcare systems etc…), and based on international
standards. The idea was to promote the data collection from the central and peripheral
administrations, the 1522 hotline and the CAV network (Lanzoni 2014).
The first surveys that were brought out in a more systematic way on the topic of gender-based
violence, have been conducted by the Rete antiviolenza delle città Urban. These researches were
financed by the Department of Equal Opportunity (DPO) at the Presidency of Council of Ministries,
and formed by 26 cities that have joined the antiviolence network. The results have been
presented in the “Il silenzio e le parole” Report, curated in 2004 by Cirsde (Interdisciplinary Center
of Research and Studies on Women) of the University of Turin.
12 Early marriages are considered one of the main causes of school abandonment for Roma girls.
13 Since these unions do not have legal value in case of separation the young Roma women find themselves
in a situation where they do not have rights nor support (Dente 2013).
14Within these organizations we must cite: UDI (Unione delle Donne Italiane), Casa Internazionale delle
Donne of Rome, the Association D.I.Re. (Donne in rete contro la violenza), Telefono Rosa, Giulia-giornaliste,
CEDAW Platform, that also in Italy includes organizations involved in the fight for women’s rights.
12These collections of information have been followed by the first survey on violence against
women, conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) in 2006. The drafting of this
first research was possible, thanks to a convention that ISTAT made with the DPO, that has been
renovated in 2012 to update the data (nine year later), with a second survey in 2014 (ISTA
2015a,b).
On June 2015, the results of the second edition of the multiuse inquiry were presented, La violenza
contro le donne dentro e fuori la famiglia (ISTAT 2015a). This document analyzes the dimensions
of the phenomena of physical, sexual and psychological violence. The reference to “honour” and
“honour related violence”, is completely absent in the survey. The data show that violence against
women is a large scale phenomenon that still remains mostly unknown: only 11,8% of physical
and sexual violence are denounced by the victims. Specifically, 6.788.000 women (31,5% of which
is between 16 and 70), have been physically or sexually abused (20,2% physical violence, 21%
sexual violence, 5,4% most serious forms of sexual violence) over their lifetime. Of these women
10,6%, have been molested during their childhood (before turning 16 years old), and in the 62,7%
of cases the attacker is the partner of the victim or a former partner of the victim. Statistics are
similar for Italian women except for the fact that immigrants are more likely to be subject of
physical violence and less likely to experience sexual violence. The majority of the abuses was
already taking place before moving to Italy.
The second survey has shown an increase in the rate of children who witness episodes of
violence against their mothers, from 60,3% to 65,2% in 2014 (which increase the chances for
girls to become victims themselves in the future, and increase the chances for boys to become
perpetrators of these crimes) (ISTAT 2015b).
The statistics show slow signs of improvement compared to the first survey. In 2014, the physical,
psychological (going from 42,3% to 26,4%) and sexual violence have decreased (going from
13,3% to 11,3%), as well as the ones committed by the partners or former partners. What have
been registered by ISTAT is that women developed a greater ability to get out from violent
scenarios or to prevent them and that they have increased their general awareness of the
phenomenon. In 2014, the abuses committed by the partners have been perceived by the people
as a more serious offence (from 14,3% to 29,6%), and the rate of charges that have been pressed
went from 6,7% to 11,8%. The number of women that asked for help to specialized services or
women’s crisis centers increased from 2,4 to 4,9%, but the percentage of the most serious
offences (rape or attempt of rape) has remained the same. About 3.466.000 (16,1%) of women
have been victims of stalking during their lifetime.
Before drafting the 2015 survey, ISTAT has consulted some women’s crisis centers (of Bologna,
Roma, Caserta and Palermo), as well as some anti-trafficking centers and immigrant women
associations, to create a common ground in the data collection methodology. The information and
the data collected are administrative15, and include: crimes committed and reported by the police
forces to the judicial authorities (Ministry of Intern database), definitive sentences ruled by Italian
judicial authorities (Ministry of Justice), data of stalking crimes (Carabinieri’s office of statistics),
data on the help requests that arrive at 1522 hotline. The network D.I.Re. (Donne in Rete contro la
violenza)16 has confirmed that the number of women that have been victims of violence and have
asked for help is still very low, even though it has doubled compared to the five years before,
thanks to raising awareness, information campaigns, and the activities to fight the violence, done
by the women’s crisis centers between 2009 and 2014.
Results from another research conducted by ISTAT-Come cambia la vita delle donne 2004-2014
(ISTAT 2015b)- confirmed that even if many changes took place over the years, resistance to
change truly endures. Despite the differences still present between the north and the south of the
15 http://eige.europa.eu/gender-based-violence/administrative-data-sources/search?
c[0]=IT&type[0]=statistical_product
16D.I.Re. represents a Network of National Association of almost 80 Anti-violence centers present on the
entire national territory. In http://www.direcontrolaviolenza.it
13country, it has transversely increased the ability to recognize the signs of violence. The constant
resistances to change though, have translated in the so-called “rubber band” dynamic (Meta
2016).
The data on violence against women for honour related reasons are poor and incomplete,
because there is not a univocal definition of this phenomenon and because the sources of
information are mainly the mass media. The few researches on the subject, are usually conducted
on women in general without referring specifically to young queer (Garofalo 2012, Le Onde 2014).
Only recently, some statistics on female genital mutilation (FGM) have been diffused to the public.
The Italian NGO “Albero della vita”17 , reported that about 7.000 girls, daughter of women18 that
were forced to undergo infibulation procedures, are at risk of being subject of FGM. They are
usually being sent back to their country of origin, where they can have this surgery done, since in
Italy it is a crime.
The first research on the practice of forced marriage, has been carried out in 2008 by Daniela
Danna (University of Milan, Department of Social Studies, Faculty of Political Science), for Trama
di Terre Ngo. This study was conducted on the immigrant communities (Pakistani, Indian, Bengali
and north Africans) resident in Emilia Romagna, and was focused on understanding how gender-
based violence was perceived by this women. In her report Per forza, non per amore, the author
indicates that girls that are born in Italy are more likely to be exposed to honour related violence,
because their emancipation contrasts with the patriarchal structure of their culture. The violence
can represent a reaction against their low social statuses and gaining more control over women
and their children.
CEDAW Report of 2011, analyzes how the marriages of immigrant women celebrated in their
country of origin against their will, is mostly a hidden phenomenon in Italy, usually detected by
cultural mediators, social services and other operators who receive help requests.
The Department of Equal Opportunity appointed to Le Onde Ngo of Palermo a survey on forced
marriages19, that was published in 2014. In this survey it is reported that forced marriages in Italy
are rare, but early marriages and pregnancies have increased over the years. This is the result of
the fact that families, pressure them sooner into the marriage life to preserve the family honour and
exercise control over female sexuality. The research is not focused only on immigrants, but include
Italian women as well. The immigrant communities that appear in greater risk are the Pakistani, the
Bengali (where the female component of the community is significantly low), the Indian and Sri
Lanka community (Le Onde 2014).
In 2015, the victims of human trafficking that entered the protection program in Italy (art. 18 Dlgs
286/98 and art. 13 L. 228/2005), have been 1.125, of which the 80% was from Nigeria, 884 women
(75,2%) and 80 minors (15,7%).
Within the group of the minors, the number of Romanian girls between 15 and 17 years of age is
particularly high and increasing over time. They are mainly from poor and rural areas, where they
are forced into prostituting themselves from an early age. It is generally known that many young
women from the Roma community coming from east Europe, are being exploited and forced after
arranged marriages to become beggars, thieves or prostitutes in the streets, under the threat of
physical violence or sexual abuses (Save the children 2016).
17 L’Albero della Vita onlus coordinates the European Project “Changing attitude” , which aim to sensibilize
the immigrant community present on our territory on FGM. In http://www.alberodellavita.org.
18 The data on women that have been subjected to FGM are not homogenous: Albero della Vita states that
in Italy the victims of this practice are about 35.000, while in a recent research Action-Aid Italia and the
University Bicocca of Milano, counts about 57.000 of them (of which 27.000 residing in the Lombardia
Region), 60% of which come from Nigeria and Egypt.
19 Forced marriage are the ones where both of the spouses or one of them do not consent to the marital
union and are forced against their will to contract marriage under physical, psychological, economical, sexual
or emotional pressure.
141.5. The ongoing debate that raised in society and in mass media
As previously said, in Italy the main sources of information on violence against women and
femminicide cases, are the mass media and more in specifically the television. The news are
usually biased, blame the victims and justify the actions of the perpetrators of these crimes (violent
men described as not fully aware of what they were doing, because incapable of reasoning in
bursts of anger). Many scholars, denounce the constant gravity minimization of the situation
done by the mass media, which helps keeping alive gender disparity and the asymmetry of powers
between the sexes (Tola, Crivelli 2014, Bartholinini 2015, Pramstrahler 2015, Betti 2013).
Commercials and mass media in general have a way of dealing with VAW, which usually translates
in the promotion of traditional gender roles, that contributes greatly to create and reinforce the
concepts of femininity and masculinity. This has the effect of normalizing gender-based violence
(Bartholini 2013, 2015, Corradi 2014, Tola 2014).
Furthermore, the commercials on TV help shaping the relationship between genders, in such a
direction that constantly undervalues women (Tola 2014, Corradi, 2014). It is interesting to observe
that despite the media clamor on femminicide cases, violence against women is generally
perceived as a distant phenomenon, far from our personal lives, involving always someone else,
who is generally unknown (Bartholini 2013).
Le Onde Organization, observed that in Italy honour related violence is not yet a topic of political
or public discussion.
Garofano (2012), points out that there is a link between the culture that legitimates honour related
crimes and femminicides. Sociologist Franca Bimbi (2011), states that the fact that media usually
highlight honour related crimes committed by immigrants, tends to validate the process of
differentiation and to relegate certain group of women into the intellectual paradigm “honour and
shame” (Bimbi 2015).
Most of scholars and activists, agree on the fact that many episodes of femminicide have been
exploited to push a xenophobic, racist, homophobe and islamophobic political agenda.
1.6. Recent research and studies on the subject
In Italy the social research on gender-based violence started because of the work brought out
by feminist organizations. Unfortunately it remained a field of interest of these feminist studies,
which focused on the victim’s perspective and on the violence that takes place mainly in domestic
scenarios (Carnino 2011).
In the last few years, the number of empirical research on the subject has stopped. This
phenomenon was continued to be read with the glasses of old feminism, without including a post-
structuralistic, post-colonial and queer feminism perspective. Carnino’s view on the subject, is that
the lack of tools that are necessary to read the phenomenon of violence against women in a more
up to date way, taking into consideration all the transformations occurred in the society. This
increases the risk of legitimating and reinforcing the usual dominant powers hierarchy. A different
approach to the subject is provided by the men’s studies. They developed in Italy from the 2000s
and read the phenomenon in terms of male violence, with different premises than the old
feminism does, without reinforcing the idea of a dominant gender. The most well-known men’s
studies organizations is the Associazione Maschile Plurale20 , founded in Rome in 2007 after the
publication of the National Plea on Violence Against Women (2006), which rethinks the male
identity with a critical perspective of the patriarchal model.
The number of researches on gender-based violence have been many, especially on a local level
usually through European Projects. The Regional Observatories on Violence, have contributed
in the data and information collection on femminiced, that had started many years before for
example Casa delle Donne of Bologna.
A recent study conducted by the Institute of Social Research and Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini,
highlights the lack of studies on the perception of violence against women (Gracia, Lila 2015).
20 http://www.maschileplurale.it
15In 2016, Fiorenza De Riu, a sociologist of the University of Rome La Sapienza21 , started a
research on the national hosting models of shelters for abused women.
Studies on violence against foreign women, have taken a longer time to adopt the intersectional
approach in Italy22 .
Only recently several universities have expressed the need to redefine violence against women,
starting from immigrant’s cultures, languages and social statuses to overcome the classic
ethnocentric and stereotypical approach.
The team of scholars at the Sociology Department of the University of Padua, is engaged in
studying the phenomenon of returning violence against immigrant women, which holds them
back from the emancipation process and it is expressed with old forms of body violation and
honour related crimes.
In a globalized world like the one we live in, the concept of honour becomes a significant and
important source of self-esteem and social recognition in immigrant communities. Despite this, it is
crucial not to adopt differential approaches in the studies of gender-based violence, which should
take into consideration the differences present in different communities without creating distance
and separation, following the logic: “us against them” (Toffanin 2011). This distinction may be found
on the false premise that western women (white, emancipated, educated, with free access to their
reproductive rights), are no longer subjected to patriarchy, while foreign women live submissively
and under the impositions of a patriarchal system (Bimbi 2015).
Immigrant women find themselves particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence and
discrimination in the access to certain opportunities. This is because they are in the middle
between the hosting country culture, which establishes a set of norms to protect them from the
violence, and their culture of origin.
The CIRSDe (Balsamo 2011), suggested to interpret the specificities of immigrant women in the
context of gender-based violence, without assuming they have surrendered to a life without any
sort of independence and freedom. It is important in a preventions logic, to help them increase
awareness of their vulnerability (Donini 2011).
Balsamo agrees with Franca Bimbi’s approach in considering inaccurate, the idea that immigrant
women find themselves in a weak situation and in need of protection. This is usually used to
increment racism and to separate into two different groups the women potentially at risk. On one
side the Italians with greater decisional power and on the other side the foreign women trapped in
a traditional and patriarchal mindset.
The researches on HRV in Italy are very few and usually focused only on certain areas of the
territory. The most recent one, was conducted by Le Onde Organization of Palermo on immigrant
community and forced marriages. This research has highlighted some critical aspects. There
have been many interpretation of the phenomena of forced marriages as directly related to the
culture and religion of certain women’s country, which are perceived as risk factors. In the list of
relevant factors that can cause forced marriages, are many times included: the need to withhold
children from being influenced from the European culture, the need of reinforcing their identity and
repay their community of origin.
The Bengali and Pakistani communities are the ones in which forced marriages are more common.
In these communities the number of women is particularly low.
Other studies, include in the list of factors that increase the exposition of immigrant women to
HRV, Italian laws on immigration (see paragraph 2), the financial dependence on the husband to
get residency permits, the perception of early marriages as an economical transactions, the
irregularities in the documentation which prevents victims from informing the authorities of the
violence suffered, the increase of religiosity and finally the difficulties faced by certain immigrant
communities to access to their rights (Garofalo 2012).
21 http://www.ingenere.it/articoli/centri-antiviolenza-parte-indagine-nazionale
22 The expression intersectionality theory, was used for the first time by jurist Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989.
She analyzed how discrimination can rise from the crossing of certain cultures or social groups. By analyzing
the points of intersection between the various elements of vulnerability of the women, it is possible to detect
the ways they interact on the territory. This theory was then developed in the immediate next few years by
sociologist Patricia Hill Collins. She considered not only race and gender, but other categories, such as
social class, sexual orientation, disability, nationality and other potential factors contributing in the
discrimination (Angelucci 2015, Bello 2015).
16Between all the studies conducted on HRV, the work of Islam and Arabic World in Europe Expert,
Renata Pepicelli was particularly interesting. Her work focused on studying the asymmetry of
gender power, on the emancipation of immigrant women (from Bangladesh) and re-islamization.
Renata Pepicelli, addressed the emergence of new forms of agencies within the young Bengali
women community. This happened both in the public and the private sphere, pushed by the desire
of experiencing new forms of freedom, social and economic emancipation.
The particular exposition of Bengali and Pakistani women to VAW and HRV can be furthermore
understood reading the work of Anthropologist Andrea Priori (2009, 2011 and 2012), conducted for
Università degli Studi di Roma Tre.
The study underlines the peculiar migration process of the Bengali community residing in Rome,
which is characterized from: the creation of an informal welfare system; an individual perception of
the concept of integration, the isolation from the hosting country community (which translates in
forms of auto-segregation especially in the poorer parts of the population), and finally a
dysfunctional relationship with the institutions (Priori 2013). The University of Roma Tre, has been
involved along with the University of Florence and Padua in a research project on the re-
construction of the male identity in the migration process in the Bengali community.
The studies have explained the meaning attributed to this process, the tensions between the
different types of masculinity and the representations of the relationship between the genders in a
male oriented perspective. They have given a precious contribute in the process of making us
understand better: emigration and immigration, immigrant families, the relationship between the
genders and generations, how the family and personal life cycle work. Sociologist Francesco Della
Puppa (2015), noticed how gender roles and identities are defined by a new and more broaden
self-representation, that is built taking in consideration the experience of the migration process
(Della Puppa 2012, 2014, 2015).
The most recent work on VAW and HRV on Roma women communities in Italy, include the
research conducted by Angela Genova for Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini within the European
Project EMPOW-AIR. The project aimed to produce recommendations, that had the purpose to
intervene and prevent gender-based violence in the Roma communities. The perspective of the
study was a post-colonial perspective, culturally sensitive and using the interjectional method. This
project was founded on the premise that patriarchal dynamics, that are at the basis of gender-
based violence intersect with forms of ethnic oppression and economical and political exploitation
of RSC communities (Corradi 2013). The research stresses the importance of not confusing culture
with patriarchy, which can present itself in different declinations in the different cultures
(EMPOWAIR 2012). Besides the classic forms of violence (physical, psychological and
economical), the study identifies forced conformism to social conventions and the symbolical
punishment of haircutting, as other forms of violence. It also emerges, that violence against women
is not a male prerogative, but could also be perpetrated by mother in laws (taken care by the
young brides) (Corradi 2013). Other studies, have dealt indirectly with the topic of domestic
violence within RSC communities in Italy, analyzing the factors that affect the integration process
and/or social exclusion of Roma communities. Others have focused on the Roma minor’s
protection within the Project PROCHILD 23 (Bormioli 2012) and Project MARIO24 (Wagener,
Milligan 2015). Finally other studies, have focused on gender as a factor of integration of Roma
students in primary and secondary school. They tried to sensibilize students on the exercise of
their rights and on the valorization of differences in the ongoing Project Luoghi Comuni25 (Bormioli
2016).
23PROCHILD Project – Nessuno può crescere solo (http://www.bironlus.eu/nessunopuocresceresolo/
home.html), coordinated by Associazione Bambini in Romania Onlus.
24MARIO Project- Joint action to protect Central and South East European Migrant children from abuse,
exploitation and trafficking in Europe, coordinated by Terre des Hommes with the involvement of 19
organizations engaged in the protection of rights or in offering services for immigrant children in the Balkan
area, in Italy, Holland, Greece and Macedonia. The Association 21 luglio has conducted research activities in
Italy (http://marioproject.org/statics/marios-about).
25Luoghi Comuni Project – Insieme oltre le differenze (http://www.luoghicomuni.eu/), coordinated by the
Association Bambini in Romania Onlus.
172. THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
Premise
In the Italian legal system Honour Related Violence is considered a part of the general category
“violence against women”.
The emanation of the Italian Constitution in 1948, contributed significantly to the cultural and social
evolution, that from the 70’s helped to promote legal interventions in the field of women’s rights.
The different approach that took place from that period of time on, brought significant changes in
the perception of violence against women, which started to be viewed as a deep violation of
fundamental human rights. The main legislative sources of the principles of self-determination of
every human being and of the prohibition of discriminatory acts, are the articles 2 and 3 of the
Constitution.
As a result of the diffusion of the concepts of freedom of expression and full development of the
human personality, women became overtime more protected from every form of violence.
Consequentially those acts and conducts that were significantly limiting or completely eliminating
their freedom of decision, were sanctioned and expunged from the legal system. This progressive
cultural and social change started a redefinition of many parts of the Civil Code, the Penal Code
and of the Procedural Penal Code. Along with the adoption of these new Codes more specific laws
were adopted (to defend the psychophysical integrity of women), regulating specific case
scenarios such as: honour related violence, domestic violence, forced marriage and other types of
violence against women.
Before proceeding with an historical overview of the Italian legal system at the different institutional
levels (national, regional, local), it is vital to clarify that in Italy it is not currently present in the
legislation a set of norms on the topic of honour killings and forced marriage. As previously said
honour related violence is considered a part of the more general category of violence against
women and it is directly related to the topic of gender equality. The reason behind this is that those
believes that in the past justified honour killings as crimes committed to defend the family honour,
are no longer part of the current cultural and social context .
Despite this consideration the number of homicides and the rate of violence against women in the
family scenario is still very high because of the persistent idea that women should still be under the
male dominance. Furthermore the publicity and the emphasis that the media give to these
phenomena of violence, create an emulative effect that produces new similar tragic cases.
2.1. Brief historical evolution and definition of crimes committed for honour related
reasons
Despite the introduction in the legislation of the Law on Divorce (Law No. 898 in 1970), and of the
Family law Reform (Law No. 151 in 1975), for a long time a significant jurisprudence in Italy,
believed that sexual violence between spouses, could not be considered rape. For many years
sexual violence was also not considered a crime against the person but a crime against the public
morality26 .
Before the approval of these laws the legal definition of family was founded on the premise of
subordination of the wife to the husband. This legislation profoundly changed the status of women
in the Civil Code (of 1942), creating conditions of moral and legal equality between men and
women within the family context. Besides introducing the institution of legal separation, it was as
well guaranteed a situation of equality between the spouses on a variety different levels: financially,
in their relationship and in the relationship with their children. The Family Law Reform also
prohibited the contraction of marriage before the age of 18, an exception can be made allowing the
26 For all legislative or jurisprudence references , B. ROMANO, Delitti contro la sfera sessuale della persona, V ed.,
Padova, 2013.
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