Commentary
Meloni’s rhetoric on femicide calls for war, but not against the patriarchy
Too bad this is yet another rhetorical sleight-of-hand, deployed by a government now highly experienced in the re-signification of historical points and periods, as well as thorny issues for which they offer accounts and solutions that are questionable at best.
In the current thunderous and belligerent climate, Giorgia Meloni's choice to distinguish herself on the eve of March 8 was to claim to be fighting “another war,” the one against women, which is what she thinks femicide is. She pushed strongly for the new anti-violence bill that introduces, with Article 577-bis of the Criminal Code, the crime that if a woman is killed because she is a woman, the penalty goes up to life imprisonment.
In her bellicose manner that is very much in step with the times, Meloni said she was proud that she “fired a salvo in the fight against this intolerable plague.” In this way, from being an unmentionable word until just a few years ago, “femicide” finally gets named, introduced into the Criminal Code and acquires a new symbolic relevance. Too bad this is yet another rhetorical sleight-of-hand, deployed by a government now highly experienced in the re-signification of historical points and periods, as well as thorny issues for which they offer accounts and solutions that are questionable at best.
A package of additional measures and criminal punishments is not what is needed to counter male violence against women and its ultimate outcome, namely femicide. In Meloni’s description of her “salvo,” there are glints of the shining armor worn by someone who is clearly picturing herself as fighting in the trenches somewhere. But this is not a war. It is not an emergency phenomenon, but a systemic one. It has very deep historical and patriarchal roots. It is not useful to present it as an alarm to be sounded, or even worse, a “plague,” because such an interpretation fails to respond to its nature.
Anti-violence centers have been repeating for years that it is not an “emergency.” The political protests organized to reassert freedoms, the collectives and movements, the grassroots initiatives and all who are working ceaselessly against violence are saying so. But Giorgia Meloni has other ideas. Because her interest in women who are killed in the family and relationship sphere (the data say that the perpetrators are always predominantly husbands and exes) does not in the least discuss the system that produces it, does not want to deconstruct it in any way, and is not even willing to describe it, but rather calls for “nourishing” it – with a generous helping of “pro-family” and traditionalism – and then speaks only of the crime in isolation.
It would not be surprising if this kind of measure (which increases penalties for the crimes of abuse, stalking, sexual assault and revenge porn) were to gain the uncritical praise of those who believe that is the way to go. But we must pay attention: still believing in the “dedication” this government has towards women, their freedoms and rights, would lead one to support the wrong side. In fact, this government continues to sweep inequality, impoverishment, discrimination, dodging the harassment of pro-lifers in order to have ownership and self-determination of our bodies under the rug. We are happy to speak out about our bodies, which are women's lives, also while we are still alive. And we also want to do so on March 8.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/la-retorica-del-governo-e-i-nostri-corpi-vivi on 2025-03-08