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RAVESA DEMNERI

Albania

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Journalistic

From Protest to Policy: How Italian Youth Are Reshaping the Legal Framework on Femicide


The Night That Changed the Conversation

On a cold November night, candles flickered across Italian campuses as students gathered in silence, holding photos of a classmate whose name would soon ignite a national reckoning.

In November 2023, tens of thousands of young Italians filled city squares after 22-year-old university student Giulia Cecchettin was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Filippo Turetta. Within weeks, students transformed private grief into a nationwide reckoning with femicide, pressuring institutions, reshaping public language, and challenging how Italy confronts violence against women.

Outside the University of Padua, where Cecchettin studied biomedical engineering, handwritten posters appeared beneath candles, some bearing Cecchettin’s name, others listing laws students said had failed her. What began as vigils quickly became demonstrations, and what began as mourning became a movement.

A System Built on Silence

The killing marked a turning point. In 2023, more than 100 women were killed in Italy, over half by current or former partners. That same year, the prestigious Treccani Encyclopaedia named “femminicidio” (Italian for femicide) its word of the year, signaling how deeply the issue had entered national consciousness.

For years, Italy’s legal system struggled to name the problem it faced. Killings of women were prosecuted under general homicide laws, often shaped by narratives of jealousy or emotional distress, and commonly referred to as “crimes of passion.” Without a clear legal definition of femicide, cases were inconsistently classified and data remained fragmented. 

Across Europe, only five countries, namely Cyprus, Malta, Belgium, North Macedonia, and Croatia, have legally defined femicide as a distinct crime, making coordinated tracking and enforcement difficult. Researchers have noted that inconsistent definitions across the European Union have limited accurate measurement of the scale of gender-based killings.

Redefining the Language of Justice

But it was Cecchettin’s peers who changed the conversation.

At vigils and protests across Padua, Milan, and Rome, students rejected the long-used phrase “crime of passion.” Elena Cecchettin, Giulia’s sister, called the murder “the healthy son of a patriarchal society.” Her words reframed femicide as systemic violence rooted in inequality, rather than an isolated tragedy.

This deliberate shift was reflected in the protest signs that replaced emotional language with structural terms, from power, control, and patriarchy. Student speakers repeated the same message: The issue was not a moment of passion, but a reflection of a system of power.

Scholars have long warned of the consequences of this system. South African academic Pumla Gqola described gender-based violence as a “female fear factory,” a mechanism through which violence, and the normalization of violence, creates an atmosphere of fear that limits women’s freedom and participation in public life.

For young activists, this idea became a framework. If violence enforces fear, then silence sustains it. Reframing femicide as a “crime of power” rather than a “crime of passion” was strategic. Language shapes how cases are interpreted, how responsibility is assigned, and how justice is delivered. By rejecting narratives rooted in emotion and replacing them with ones grounded in power, students challenged assumptions embedded within both media coverage and legal reasoning. In doing so, they began to reshape not only public discourse, but the foundations of how the justice system understands violence.

From Classrooms to Courtrooms

This generation’s strategy differs from earlier feminist movements. Instead of focusing only on punishment, youth-led activism targeted institutions. University groups organized teach-ins on consent and gender violence. Student journalists monitored trials and media coverage. Grassroots networks demanded data transparency and legal recognition of femicide.

Their focus increasingly turned toward the justice system itself. Across Europe, at least 4,221 women were victims of femicide between 2012 and 2022. Yet without standardized legal definitions, many cases remained underreported or inconsistently categorized.

Students argued that definition shapes action. Without legal recognition, systemic violence becomes harder to prosecute, measure, and prevent. Activists began to question not only how laws are written, but how they are applied.

Elena Biaggioni, a lawyer and vice president of the Italian anti-violence network Donne in Rete contro la violenza (D.i.Re), stressed that the effective enforcement of existing laws is equally critical. She argued that legal frameworks alone are insufficient, emphasizing that “the problem is structural and steeped throughout all of society,” and that meaningful change requires both legal enforcement and long-term cultural transformation.

For many students, this reinforced a central concern: Passing laws is only the first step. Ensuring those laws are applied consistently, and supported by broader societal change, remains an ongoing challenge.

Challenging Power and Political Narratives

To enforce societal adoption, students confronted political responses. 

After government officials linked sexual violence to immigration, Elena Cecchettin publicly responded: “Giulia was killed by a respectable, white Italian man… What is the government doing?” Her remarks, amplified by youth demonstrations, redirected attention back to domestic accountability.

The responses echoed a broader argument made by student activists: Femicide isn’t an external threat, but part of an internal structure. By framing violence as part of what scholars describe as a “female fear factory,” youth movements challenged attempts to isolate individual cases or attribute them to external causes. Instead, they pointed to a responsibility shared collectively by institutions, policies, and cultural norms.

This framing made it possible to extend beyond social critique into the political sphere. Activists argued that gender-based violence does more than just harm individuals: It shapes who is able to participate in public life. By fostering fear and limiting freedom, violence acts as a form of “regulatory punishment,” deterring women from political participation and leadership.

At a time when equal representation is considered essential to achieving global development goals, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, this exclusion carries broader consequences. When women are prevented from entering positions of power, the effects extend beyond individual lives to the functioning of political systems themselves.

Addressing femicide is a matter of democratic integrity, rather than just one of criminal justice. In Cecchettin’s case, youth activism moved beyond awareness. It became a challenge to power, demanding that courts, lawmakers, and the state itself confront the structures they had long left unexamined.

Policy Under Pressure

By late 2023, that pressure began to produce results. Italy passed new provisions strengthening protections against domestic violence, expanding definitions of unlawful conduct and increasing penalties. Legal experts described the reforms as a step forward but warned that implementation would be critical.

Protests continued throughout 2024. Discussions on gender violence expanded in schools and universities. Media narratives began to reflect the language introduced by youth activists.

By 2025, institutional change followed. In November 2025, Italy’s parliament passed a landmark law formally recognizing femicide as a distinct crime, punishable by life imprisonment. The law defined femicide as the gender-motivated killing of a woman and was approved unanimously across political parties.

Lawmakers acknowledged the role of public pressure in accelerating the reform. Cases like Giulia Cecchettin’s had transformed individual tragedies into national debates, and national debates into legislative change.

The Crisis Continues

Yet the numbers didn’t disappear.

In 2024, more than 100 women were killed in Italy, with most cases involving partners or former partners. In 2025, the murders of two university students, Sara Campanella and Ilaria Sula, triggered renewed protests.

Students returned to the streets, and vigils returned to campuses. The cycle of violence, protest, and response continued. The persistence of femicide reinforces the central argument that legal recognition alone is insufficient.

The 2025 law marked a breakthrough, but also exposed its limits. Critics argue that the legislation focuses on punishment rather than prevention. Activists emphasize the need to address deeper causes, including gender norms, education gaps, and inequality. Without addressing how young people understand power and consent, legal reforms risk treating symptoms rather than causes.

New concerns have also emerged in digital spaces. In 2025, public outrage grew over online platforms used to share degrading images of women without consent, prompting calls for stronger protections. These developments highlight that while laws can change quickly, cultural norms evolve more slowly.

A Generation Rewriting the System

Scholars describe gender-based violence as creating a “female fear factory,” a system that normalizes fear and limits women’s participation in public life. Youth activists are working to disrupt that system.

By occupying streets, classrooms, and digital platforms, they have challenged both violence and the structures surrounding it. Their protests have influenced legislation, reshaped public language, and pressured institutions to respond more transparently.

The impact is visible in both discourse and law. Terms once used to minimize violence have been rejected. Legal frameworks have begun to reflect a more systemic understanding of gender-based violence.

Giulia Cecchettin’s graduation never came. But in lecture halls across Italy, students now debate consent, power, and accountability with urgency. In courtrooms, new legal definitions are being tested. In public squares, protests continue.

In doing so, Italy’s youth are reshaping the country’s response to gender-based violence. They are not only demanding justice for the dead, but redefining what justice should mean for the living.

Works Cited

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