Italy adds femicide to the criminal code and makes it punishable by life in prison.
Garnering bipartisan support from the centre-right majority and centre-left opposition in the Lower Chamber, the Italian parliament passed legislation on 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women), to introduce the crime of femicide as a distinct law to be punished with a life sentence.
The bill makes Italy one of very few countries in Europe to categorise femicide as a distinct crime. While general homicide laws cover the killing of women, a distinct femicide law specifically acknowledges the gender-related motivation, driven by discrimination, unequal power relations, gender stereotypes or harmful social norms, according to UN Women.
However, critics believe the new definition of femicide is too vague and will prove difficult for judges to implement. Additionally, while the center-left opposition supported the law in parliament, it stressed that the government approach only tackles the criminal aspect of the problem while leaving economic and cultural divides unaddressed.
Sources: BBC, UN Women
South Africa officially recognises gender-based violence as a national disaster.
South Africa has classified violence against women a national disaster following an online campaign culminating in countrywide protest.
In the lead-up to the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg, hundreds of women across 15 cities participated in a coordinated protest organized by Women for Change. Many wore black and staged a 15-minute lie-down to symbolise the roughly 15 women killed daily by gender-based violence in the country.
South Africa experiences some of the world’s highest levels of gender-based violence (GBV), with the rate at which women are killed five times higher than the global average, according to UN Women.
The National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) has classified GBV and femicide as a disaster following “a thorough reassessment of previous reports and updated submissions from organs of state as well as civil organisations”, said Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa.
Sources: BBC, AP News, UN Women
Albania adopts law for 30-50% women in public office.
The Parliament of Albania passed a landmark gender equality law on November 7, as part of the process of aligning the country’s laws to EU standards.
Among other provisions, the law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, gender identity or sexual characteristics, introduces quotas that requires women to hold 30 to 50 percent of positions in government bodies such as parliament, the diplomatic service, and the police, and puts the burden of proof of gender-based violence on the offender rather than the victim. It also recognises unpaid work, such as childcare and care for the elderly, as a genuine economic contribution for the first time, obliging the government to measure it and include it in budgetary policies.
The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, welcomed the change, writing on X that “gender equality and non-discrimination are integral part of EU law”. Meanwhile, “pro-family” groups, supported by the main opposition parties, protested at the parliament building, claiming that the law promotes multiple gender definitions and harms the traditional family.
Sources: Balkan Insight, UN Albania
The European Court of Justice rules EU members must mutually recognise same-sex marriage.
The ECJ said that EU member states were obliged to recognise a same-sex marriage between two EU citizens that had been “lawfully concluded in another member state”.
The ruling addressed the case of a Polish couple who married in Berlin in 2018 and later wanted to move back to Poland. Polish authorities refused to transcribe and recognize the couple’s German marriage certificate, as Polish law does not recognise same-sex marriage.
The ECJ said that while marriage rules fell within each member state’s competence, “countries were required to comply with EU law in exercising that competence”.
While this is a win for LGBTQI+ rights, the ruling comes amid concerns over the state of growing backlash against equality protections in several EU countries, where governments promoted hostile rhetoric toward queer communities.
Sources: ECJ, Politico Europe
Annual global campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence to focus on digital violence.
This year’s UN campaign (25 November-10 December) aims to highlight that digital violence is on the rise worldwide, and yet nearly half of women and girls globally still lack explicit legal protection against online abuse and harassment.
Experts warn that gender-based violence now frequently employs the use of deepfakes and other AI generated non-consensual content, but that the lack of accountability faced by tech companies and often weak legal frameworks to protect victims leads to a culture of normalisation.
For example, a recent UK-police commissioned survey found that 1 in 4 respondents believe there’s nothing wrong, or feel indifferent, about creating or sharing non-consensual sexual deepfakes.
Sources: UN Women, The Guardian
