New and old in the fight against honour-based violence in Italy

Abstract

In the Italian Criminal Code of 1930, honour-based violence was recognized as a mitigating circumstance for causing the death or injury of a spouse, daughter, or sister involved in «an illegitimate carnal relationship», as well as for the killing of a newborn or fetus resulting from such a relationship. These provisions were justified by the perceived need to protect personal or family honour. Law 442/1981 repealed them, declaring honour-based justification unacceptable in light of cultural changes in Italian society. Nevertheless, honour still plays a significant role, not only within immigrant communities - brought to judicial attention through cases of young women's murders – but also within Italian society at large. The persisting patriarchal culture uses honour to preserve its power, turning reactions to transgressions of its rules into duties imposed by the family. A case law study on domestic abuse confirms this dynamic: analysis of 194 judgments from the Criminal Court of Milan – the Italian city with the highest percentage of foreign residents – showed that Italian women suffered violence in the name of so-called honour at the hands of their husbands in the same way as immigrant women. Although perpetrators rarely invoke honour explicitly (unlike in some honour killing cases), it clearly emerges as the root cause of violent behaviours aimed at asserting supremacy and hegemonic masculinity, as reflected in victims' testimonies.