Interview with Simona Lanzoni: The State of Women’s Rights in Italy

24 January 2025

Simona Lanzoni, Vice President of the Fondazione Pangea, oversees project management and advocacy efforts. She has also served as the First Vice President of GREVIO, the independent body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence under the Council of Europe.

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RAJA-Daniele Marcovici Foundation (RDMF): While abortion has been legal in Italy since 1978, two out of three gynecologists refuse to perform the procedure [1] on the grounds of “conscientious objection.”[2] Recently, the Italian Senate passed a controversial amendment that allows “pro-life” groups to enter public clinics when a woman is considering an abortion. The government argues that this amendment is in line with the 1978 law, which legalized abortion but included provisions aimed at limiting its use.

Could you tell us more about sexual and reproductive rights in Italy and how they might evolve in the coming years?

Simona Lanzoni (SL): Several international calls and specific recommendations, particularly from CEDAW, UPR, and the Economic and Social Council, have been made to Italy to advance these rights. However, these have not been taken into account. We’re not even at the stage of enforcing laws, but rather at the point where we need to listen to and respect these guidelines, and we are still far from this.

It is, of course, possible and legal to have an abortion in Italy, but although hospitals provide the service, doctors can refuse to perform it. Depending on where you’re from, the right to abortion is either respected or not. For example, women living in southern Italy, which is very conservative, often have to travel to the center or north, where access is slightly more guaranteed. But even in some northern regions, finding a hospital that accommodates abortion requests can be difficult. This should not be a lottery!

What needs to be understood is that the public health system, which includes hospitals and sexual and reproductive health centers (consultori), is managed at the regional level, not the municipal one. In some regions, such as Umbria and Marche, conservative governments, often linked to La Lega, have allowed “pro-life” activists to enter family planning centers. This strong symbol highlights a threat to sexual and reproductive rights across the country.

What is particularly concerning is that these attacks on women’s rights are not limited to the poorer or more conservative southern regions, but are also observed in moderately wealthy and supposedly progressive regions like Umbria and Marche. This is even more alarming. However, a change may be underway: in Umbria, a center-left candidate from the Democratic Party recently won regional elections. It remains to be seen whether this will change the policies favoring “pro-life” movements in the region.

RDMF: In November, Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara claimed that “patriarchy no longer exists”[3]  in Italian legislation and attributed violence against women to illegal immigration. Additionally, recent decisions have aimed at restricting the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals, such as banning the registration of children from same-sex couples and seeking to make surrogacy a “universal crime.”[4]

How do you react to these statements, and what impact might they have on anti-discrimination and anti-gender-based violence policies in Italy?

SL: Ultraconservatives oppose not only women’s rights but also those of the LGBTQI+ community. Their strategy, rooted in a global patriarchal and ultraconservative ideology, aims to promote policies that reinforce the traditional and binary family structure. This includes measures that discourage separation and divorce, even in cases of domestic violence.

The Ministry of Education has funds to promote sexual health in schools, tied to the 1975 law and the establishment of abortion services in Italy, as well as public family planning centers.

However, the systemic causes of these violences are not being addressed. In parallel, conservatives prefer to promote education on fertility, prioritizing training for teachers on infertility while avoiding any mention of abortion.

Italy’s birth rate remains low, despite pro-family rhetoric. This is due to the lack of public services for children, insufficient social support, and the precarious working conditions for women, who often occupy the lowest-paid and part-time jobs.

RDMF: As a former First Vice President of GREVIO, could you update us on the progress regarding the implementation of laws aimed at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, particularly in Italy?

SL: The judicial sector is evolving very slowly when it comes to violence against women and still appears to be very conservative. Take a recent example: a man who killed his wife and daughter in front of their son was sentenced to 30 years in prison instead of life. The judge, who was a woman, considered his act “humanly understandable” due to stress related to a family conflict about property. “Humanly understandable!” This reasoning is extremely dangerous, as it relies on outdated concepts that downplay the severity of violence against women.

The language used is also very important: the justice system still refers to the “conflict” rather than “violence.” This creates a reversal of responsibility, making women appear as if they provoked the act, and the murderer as a victim overwhelmed by family circumstances. In another case, a young man who killed his father to defend his mother from violence was declared free. These inconsistent judicial decisions reflect the structural biases in the system.

Training on violence against women should be mandatory for anyone working as a lawyer, judge, psychologist, or social worker, to provoke a real cultural shift.

RDMF: In a Europe where the far right and ultraconservatism are gaining ground, how do you see the future of women’s and girls’ rights? Do you believe that training can actually change the minds of people with deeply conservative views who are set in their beliefs?

SL: I believe it is possible to make a breakthrough, yes. I even conduct these trainings for military personnel, and I see transformations. When you talk to them in a certain way, with pedagogy, they understand. But you must not attack them; that doesn’t work. So, yes, we need people who actively advocate to show that these issues matter to the population. But for those with a different mindset, we need to approach it differently. For instance, I always start with examples from mythology, then literature and art, to show where violence and male domination come from, and how these stereotypes, etc., have been transmitted into current society—they are structural, cultural, and underlying.

We also talk a lot about the “glass ceiling,” this invisible barrier that prevents women from reaching top positions. Legally, nothing prevents them from accessing these roles, but societal norms dictate that men should lead. Today, women can more easily access important positions or even lead a country. And that’s great! But what truly worries me is the instrumentalization of feminism by conservatives and the far right to serve their interests. Giorgia Meloni frequently uses the term “empowerment.” But it’s a very individualistic feminism she’s advocating—empowerment that only benefits women with a privileged social and economic status. It’s the right-wing ideology that prioritizes personal interest over the common good. This is also what needs to be fought today.

In any case, I believe that through real examples and a focus on real needs, we can slowly open minds and bring about change. For example, I have always kept the dialogue open with various Ministers of Equal Opportunities, even though I completely disagree with them. But we must always keep the conversation open—one never knows, we can be surprised!

 

[1] According to data from the Italian Ministry of Health in 2020.

[2] Obstetricians have the right to refuse to perform an abortion if they believe it goes against their personal convictions (whether religious, political, philosophical, ideological, etc.).

[3] This was presented at the Chamber of Deputies during the launch of a foundation in honor of Giulia Cecchettin, a victim of femicide in 2023.

[4] In October 2024, the Italian government sought to make surrogacy, which is already prohibited in Italy, a “universal crime.” By banning the use of a surrogate mother abroad, this law punishes those who return to Italy with a child born through surrogacy outside the national territory.

[5] An independent body of experts responsible for overseeing the implementation, by the parties, of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (also known as the Istanbul Convention).

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