After unanimous approval was obtained last week in the House of Representatives and a cross-party agreement between government leaders and the main majority party that appeared to have secured reform, a bill aimed at amending sexual assault crimes to explicitly introduce the concept of “free and current consent” was suddenly blocked in the Senate. The final vote was expected to take place today, November 25, but, surprisingly, part of the majority called for further understanding of the text that everyone seems to agree on and aligns Italy with the requirements of international law on gender violence.
If additional investigations dispel the doubts of undecided senators and the text approved by the House is finally confirmed, then the concept of “free and current consent” will be explicitly introduced into our legal system, becoming a prerequisite for the legality of sexual acts. According to the updated art formula. 609-bis of the Criminal Code “anyone who commits or causes another person to commit or undergo a sexual act without that person’s free and direct consent, is threatened with imprisonment from six to twelve years”.
This is not just a symbolic novelty but an important shift in procedural perspective, providing intervention on behalf of those who, to demonstrate that they have experienced violence, often find themselves exposed to secondary forms of victimization.
But what will change concretely?
In fact, until now, in rape trials to prove the abuse, it was necessary to show elements of coercion and threats and in this phase the complainant was asked to take into account elements related to lifestyle or personal choices of attitude and even clothing which, irrelevant to considering the violence, often resulted in insinuations that humiliated and belittled the victims. So, for example, women who experience the scientifically proven “freezing” phenomenon, which literally renders victims immobile, unable to react, move and scream in the face of violence, must face the frustration of proving the abuse they suffer.
Likewise, in cases of coercion occurring within a consolidated relationship or after consuming narcotic substances (voluntarily or not), verification of the violence can be so difficult and burdensome that it discourages women, to the point of prompting them to stop reporting, and instead endure the harsh burden of probation.
