Italy delays consent-based rape bill, revealing deep coalition divisions
Italy’s Senate has postponed debate on a landmark bill that would, for the first time, define sex without consent as rape — a delay that has exposed rifts within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition.
The bill, approved by the lower house earlier this month, would set a penalty of six to 12 years in prison for engaging in sexual acts without the other party’s free consent. Under current Italian law, rape is defined only as a sexual act committed through violence, threats, or abuse of authority, with no explicit reference to consent, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The measure had been advanced through an unusual bipartisan effort between Meloni and the opposition Democratic Party (PD), and both sides expected it to pass on November 25 — the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
But the coalition’s League party, led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, requested a last-minute delay, citing concerns over a clause reducing penalties for certain lesser offenses.
PD lawmaker Alessandro Zan sharply criticised the move, calling it “shameful” and saying it sent “a devastating message” about the government’s priorities.
Government ministers attempted to downplay the dispute. Family Minister Eugenia Roccella said it was better to “take more time” to address “strong doubts” about parts of the bill.
The delay came just days after the League performed strongly in regional elections in Veneto — a result that opposition figures say prompted the party to reposition itself as the coalition’s most conservative force.
While the consent bill stalled, parliament on Tuesday approved another significant measure: femicide, defined as the gender-motivated killing of a woman, will now be listed as a specific crime in Italy’s penal code, punishable by life imprisonment.
Italy has been shaken by a series of high-profile femicides this year, with critics arguing that authorities have failed to adequately protect women at risk. Meloni welcomed the new femicide law, saying she wants to build a country “in which no woman should ever feel alone, threatened or not believed.” She did not comment on the delayed consent bill.
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