Homosexuality in Italy

Geographical location of Italy

In Italy the issue of legal recognition of homosexual couples has been fiercely contested at the political level over the past decade. In May 2016, the Italian Parliament passed the introduction of registered civil partnerships for homosexuals. A right of adoption is not provided. Italy was the last Western European country in which homosexual partnerships did not yet have a legal basis, but homosexual acts were no longer punishable in Italy since 1887. Overall, there has been a trend towards greater tolerance and openness towards gays among the Italian population in recent years and lesbian observable.

Legal situation

legality

The introduction of the Code Napoleone had abolished the prosecution of homosexuality in the Italian states. Only two states retained the offense after the Napoleonic era, one of which was the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont . In the new penal code issued by King Victor Emmanuel II on November 20, 1859, homosexuality was punished as a violation of "good morals" (Articles 420, 425). In the course of the Italian unification under the leadership of Piedmont, this penal code was extended to the whole of Italy, with one exception: because of the "distinctive features" of the Italian south, some criminal provisions were not extended to the territory of the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . This unequal treatment, which made the same homosexual act punishable in Milan and Florence, but would not have been punished in Naples and Palermo, was eliminated in 1887 with the Codice Zanardelli , which erased every difference in the treatment of heterosexual and homosexuality. So it remained with the Fascist penal code, the Codice Rocco , which came into force in 1930 and, after extensive amendments, is still valid today . An article 528 was also provided in the draft, which punished a homosexual act with up to three years in prison. Since 1887 Italy has no longer recognized homosexuality as a criminal offense. The age of consent is set at 14 years.

Anti-discrimination laws

Various regions in Italy have passed anti-discrimination laws (e.g. Tuscany or Piedmont ). With the expiry of the implementation period of the European directives on anti-discrimination, sexual orientation has been protected against discrimination in labor law across the country in Italy since 2005 .

Recognition of same-sex couples

A homosexual marriage is not provided for by law in Italy. Since May 11, 2016, a civil partnership has been introduced by the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi . Since 2004, the issue of the legal recognition of homosexual couples has been heavily debated at the political level and made a subject in the media. Several regions had passed symbolic resolutions to recognize same-sex couples in their center-left dominated regional parliaments since 2005 ( e.g. Umbria , Emilia-Romagna , Calabria and Tuscany ), and the city councils of some cities - e.g. Florence , Empoli , Turin , Naples and Milan - similar symbolic resolutions passed for gay and lesbian couples. Under the Berlusconi government , which existed until spring 2006, no laws on the recognition of same-sex couples were passed in Rome. In the spring of 2006 , the Prodi government introduced a bill to recognize same-sex couples. The name for this family law institute was Diritti e doveri delle persone stabilmente COnviventi (DICO, "rights and obligations of people living together"). Due to the renewed Berlusconi - Bossi government, the draft was dropped.

In April 2010, the Italian Constitutional Court rejected three lawsuits opening up marriage to same-sex couples. In August 2014, the family court in Rome approved the stepchild adoption . In June 2016, the stepchild adoption was also made possible by the Court of Appeal in Family Matters in Rome. On July 21, 2015 , the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of three Italian homosexual couples who had sued for state recognition of their partnerships .

In 2014, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced another attempt to set up a civil partnership institute for same-sex couples in Italy. His coalition partner NCD announced resistance. In October 2015 the draft law was introduced to the Italian Parliament by the Social Democratic Senator Monica Cirinnà . In addition to the social democratic ruling party Partito Democratico led by Matteo Renzi, the left-wing opposition party Sinistra Ecologia Libertà and the opposition party MoVimento 5 Stelle led by Beppe Grillo also wanted to support the bill. In the course of the parliamentary debate, MoVimento 5 Stelle withdrew its support, which is why the PD again negotiated with the NCD and other conservative senators and, as a compromise , deleted the planned right to stepchild adoption from the bill. On February 25, 2016, the Italian Senate approved the introduction of a civil partnership institute with 173 votes in favor, which came into effect on May 11, 2016 when it was passed in the Chamber of Deputies. The law includes: community of property, survivor's pension, right to a double name, family insurance, family insurance (health insurance), maintenance law, marriage leave, family reunification and some other rights, but no right of adoption.

Social situation

Gay Pride in Rome 2007

A homosexual community can be found primarily in the capital Rome as well as in the cities of Milan , Turin , Genoa , Bologna , Florence , in northern Italy and Naples , Bari , Palermo and Catania in the south and in Sicily . Other medium-sized cities with an increasingly LGBT community are Padua , Venice , Trieste , Rimini , Perugia , Reggio Calabria , Messina , Syracuse and Cagliari . Every year a Christopher Street Day starts in Rome, Milan and Turin. The International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival takes place in Turin . Many small cities in northern and southern Italy and partly also the islands are becoming more tolerant, even if there are hardly any bars and places for gays and lesbians in these cities. Nevertheless, the LGBT movements have become increasingly active in recent years (e.g. Alessandria , Asti , Savona , Pisa , Cremona , Campobasso , Lecce , Salerno , Cosenza , Caltanissetta , Agrigent , Sassari and others). Overall, there has been a trend among the people towards greater tolerance and openness towards gays and lesbians in recent years.

In September 2013, Guido Barilla, the boss of the Italian food manufacturer Barilla , said in an interview with the Italian broadcaster Radio24 that his company does not value homosexual customers: “We will not advertise with homosexuals because we support the traditional family. If homosexuals don't like that, they can eat pasta from another manufacturer. ”He emphasized that his company only supports the“ holy family ”. The statements led to calls for boycotts in Italy. Barilla then qualified his statement.

See also

• Laws on homosexuality
• Equality (homosexuals)

Web links

Commons : Homosexuality in Italy  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Unpacsavanti
• Paul Kreiner: Italy: "Kisses between gays disgust me" , Die Presse, October 15, 2009

Individual evidence

1. ↑ BBC News: Italians clash on gay 'marriage' , Jan. 14, 2006
2. ↑ ^{a b} : Italy introduces gay partnership
3. ↑ ^{a b} I dati confermano: più di un italiano su due dice sì alle nozze gay
4. ↑ Italian Parliament Moves Forward On Gay Unions Bill ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 365gay.com, September 28, 2006  
5. ↑ Miles de personas Exigen a Prodi en Roma que regule las parejas de hecho , El Pais. March 10, 2007. 
6. ↑ Disciplina del patto civile di solidarietà e delle unioni di fatto (PDF document; 198 kB)
7. ↑ Corriere.it: Dicos For De Facto Unions , February 9, 2007
8. ↑ Yahoo News: Constitutional court in Italy rejects recognition of gay marriage  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Queer.de: Italy: Court enables lesbian couple to adopt stepchildren , August 2014
10. ↑ repubblica.it: Cassazione, sì alla stepchild adoption in casi particolari , June 2016
11. ↑ Tagesschau.de: Italy should recognize gay marriage , accessed on July 21, 2015
12. ↑ Ansa.it:Pd verso Speranza Zanda capigruppo Camera Senato (Italian)
13. ↑ Salto.bz : Italy, gay marriage should be equated
14. ↑ Queer.de:Italien: civil partnership again in parliament
15. ^ Voice of America: Italy Senate Approves Civil Unions
16. ^ New York Times: Italian Senate Approves Civil Unions for Gay Couples, but Not Adoptions
17. ↑ theguardian: Italian senate passes watered-down bill recognising same-sex civil unions
18. ↑ queer.de: Barilla rejects homosexuals , September 26, 2013.
19. ↑ Reuters: Provocative statement by the Barilla boss ( Memento from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Tagesschau from September 26, 2013.