Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of Italy *

1.The Committee considered the seventh periodic report of Italy (CEDAW/C/ITA/7) at its 1502nd and 1503rd meetings (see CEDAW/C/SR.1502 and 1503), held on 4 July 2017. The Committee’s list of issues and questions is contained in CEDAW/C/ITA/Q/7 and the responses of Italy are contained in CEDAW/C/ITA/Q/7/Add.1.

A.Introduction

2.The Committee appreciates the submission by the State party of its seventh periodic report. It also appreciates the State party’s written replies to the list of issues and questions raised by the pre-sessional working group and welcomes the oral presentation by the delegation and the further clarifications provided in response to the questions posed orally by the Committee during the dialogue.

3.The Committee commends the State party on its delegation, which was headed by the Minister Plenipotentiary and President of the Interministerial Committee for Human Rights, Fabrizio Petri, and included representatives of the Department for Equal Opportunities, the National Office against Racial Discrimination, the Department for Family Policies, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the Ministry of Education, University and Research, the Ministry of Health, the National Institute of Statistics, the National Communications Regulatory Authority and the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva.

B.Positive aspects

4.The Committee welcomes the progress achieved since the consideration in 2011 of the State party’s sixth periodic report (CEDAW/C/ITA/6) in undertaking legislative reforms, in particular the adoption of the following:

(a)Decree on gender budgeting in public administrations, in June 2017, by which the impact of public policies on women and men will be assessed with regard to pay, services, unpaid time and work;

(b)Act No. 81/2017, in June 2017, which provides for measures to promote new flexible working arrangements for employees in the public and private sectors;

(c)Act No. 107/2015, in July 2015, which provides for the inclusion of education on gender equality in the national education and training system;

(d)Legislative Decree No. 80/2015, in June 2015, on measures for reconciliation between care, work and family life;

(e)Legislative Decree No. 24/2014, in March 2014, to implement Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims;

(f)Act No. 215/2012, in December 2012, which promotes gender balance and equality in local governments and regional councils;

(g)Act No. 120/2011, in June 2011, which provides for minimum quotas for the less represented sex on boards of directors and boards of statutory auditors of publicly listed companies.

5.The Committee takes note of the adoption of Act No. 76/2016, in May 2016, which recognizes the right of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women to enter into same-sex civil unions and cohabitation.

6.The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to improve its institutional and policy framework aimed at accelerating the elimination of discrimination against women and promoting gender equality, such as the adoption of the following:

(a)National action plan on women and peace and security, covering the period 2016-2019, in December 2016;

(b)National action plan against trafficking in and serious exploitation of persons, covering the period 2016-2021, in February 2016;

(c)Extraordinary national action plan against sexual and gender-based violence, covering the period 2015-2017, in July 2015.

7.The Committee welcomes the fact that, in the period since the consideration of the previous report, the State party has ratified or acceded to the following international and regional instruments:

(a)Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, in 2016;

(b)International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, in 2015;

(c)Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in 2015;

(d)1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, in 2015;

(e)Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), in 2013;

(f)Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, in 2013;

(g)Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), of the International Labour Organization, in 2013.

C.Parliament

8. The Committee stresses the crucial role of the legislative power in ensuring the full implementation of the Convention (see the statement by the Committee on its relationship with parliamentarians, adopted at the forty-fifth session, in 2010). It invites the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, in line with their mandates, to take the necessary steps regarding the implementation of the present concluding observations between now and the next reporting period under the Convention.

D.Principal areas of concern and recommendations

General context

9.The Committee notes with concern that the financial and economic crisis and the austerity measures adopted by the State party in an effort to stabilize public finances have had a detrimental and disproportionate impact on women in all spheres of life owing to cuts in public services mostly used by women for themselves or for persons under their care, such as children and older persons. The Committee reminds the State party that, even in a time of fiscal constraint and economic crisis, special efforts must be made to respect women’s rights, sustain and expand social investment and social protection and employ a gender-sensitive approach, according priority to women in vulnerable situations and avoiding retrogressive measures.

General context

10. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Undertake a comprehensive study on the consequences of the austerity measures on women and design an action plan to mitigate the adverse effects of such measures;

(b) Ensure the internal redistribution of its resources to overcome the consequences of the financial crisis, according priority to measures that support gender equality in all fields.

Visibility of the Convention, the Optional Protocol and the Committee’s general recommendations

11.The Committee notes that its previous concluding observations, the State party’s seventh periodic report and other relevant documents have been translated into Italian, disseminated and published on the website of the Department for Equal Opportunities. It also notes that the Higher School for the Judiciary has provided targeted refresher courses on gender-based discrimination and violence, with a specific focus on the provisions of the Convention. The Committee is, however, concerned at the general lack of awareness of the Convention, the Optional Protocol and the Committee’s general recommendations in the State party. It is particularly concerned that women themselves, especially those belonging to disadvantaged groups, including women from rural areas, women migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, Roma, Sinti and Caminanti women and women with disabilities, are unaware of their rights under the Convention and thus lack the information necessary to claim such rights.

Visibility of the Convention, the Optional Protocol and the Committee’s general recommendations

12. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Enhance women’s awareness of their rights under the Convention and the remedies available to them to claim violations of such rights, and ensure that information on the Convention, the Optional Protocol and the Committee’s general recommendations is provided to all women, targeting in particular women belonging to disadvantaged groups, including women from rural areas, women migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, Roma, Sinti and Caminanti women and women with disabilities;

(b) Further strengthen legal training and capacity-building programmes for judges, prosecutors, lawyers and other legal professionals on the Convention, the Optional Protocol, the Committee’s general recommendations and the Committee’s views on individual communications and inquiries, so as to enable them to apply, invoke and/or refer to the provisions of the Convention directly and to interpret national legislation in line with the Convention.

Responsibility and accountability of the national Government

13.While the Committee is cognizant of the complex regionalized system of the State party, it reminds the national Government of its responsibility to ensure the implementation of the Convention in all regions. The Committee remains concerned about the critical geographical disparities in the realization of women’s human rights in the State party.

Responsibility and accountability of the national Government

14. The Committee recommends that the State party establish an effective mechanism aimed at ensuring accountability and the transparent, coherent and consistent implementation of the Convention throughout its territory.

Women refugees and asylum seekers

15.The Committee commends the State party for its remarkable and sustained efforts to rescue at sea and receive, host and provide protection and assistance to high numbers of persons fleeing armed conflict or persecution. It also welcomes the inclusion of gender-based persecution as grounds for recognition of refugee status. The Committee is, however, concerned that the support from European Union member States has been insufficient to alleviate the efforts of the State party and the host community. It is further concerned about:

(a)The lack of a comprehensive and harmonized framework, including clear procedures, guidelines and standards, for the identification of and provision of assistance to individuals with specific needs and vulnerabilities, especially refugees and asylum seekers who are women and girls;

(b)The insufficient number of reception centres and the overcrowding and substandard conditions in existing centres owing to the increasing number of refugees and asylum seekers entering the country;

(c)The lack of services provided to refugees and asylum seekers placed in administrative detention, in particular to women with specific needs and vulnerabilities;

(d)The insufficient financial support given to civil society organizations working with women refugees and asylum seekers;

(e)The planned ban preventing rescue boats of non-governmental organizations from allowing those rescued to disembark in Italian ports.

Women refugees and asylum seekers

16. The Committee recommends, in line with its general recommendation No. 32 (2014) on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women, that the State party:

(a) Put in place gender-appropriate, culturally sensitive and age‑sensitive individual screening and assessment procedures to ensure the systematic and early identification of refugees and asylum seekers, in particular women and girls who have been victims or are at risk of gender‑based violence;

(b) Increase the number of available places in reception centres and ensure adequate reception standards for refugees and asylum seekers, with particular attention to the needs of women and girls;

(c) Provide adequate services to refugees and asylum seekers placed in administrative detention, in particular women with specific needs and vulnerabilities;

(d) Ensure that immigration detention is applied only as a measure of last resort, after it has been determined, on a case-by-case basis, to be strictly necessary, proportionate, lawful and non-arbitrary, and is imposed for the shortest possible period;

(e) Strictly observe the principle of non-refoulement for all women and girls in need of international protection and amend expulsion procedures to ensure that no individual is expelled without an individualized risk assessment;

(f) Increase collaboration with and financial support to civil society organizations working with women refugees and asylum seekers;

(g) Continue to allow rescue boats of non-governmental organizations to dock in Italian ports and allow those rescued to disembark;

(h) Seek and strengthen cooperation with countries in the region, in particular European Union member States, to share the economic burden and provide for the needs of refugees, including resettlement and humanitarian admission opportunities.

Legislative framework and access to justice

17.The Committee notes the numerous laws and regulations with the aim of combating sex-based discrimination and making gender equality a reality, in particular Legislative Decree No. 5/2010, supplementing and amending the Code of Equal Opportunities between Women and Men. It also notes the implementation of the joint programme of the Council of Europe and the European Union on access to justice for Roma, Sinti and Caminanti Women, in partnership with the National Office against Racial Discrimination. The Committee is concerned, however, about:

(a)The limited effectiveness of the State party’s anti-discrimination legislation;

(b)The unsystematic protection against discrimination afforded to lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons;

(c)The difficulties faced by women in claiming their rights owing to legal illiteracy, the costs and length of procedures, insufficient legal aid, gender bias within the judiciary and the lack of reparation;

(d)The insufficient integration of the prohibition of intersecting forms of discrimination into national laws and public policies.

Legislative framework and access to justice

18. In line with its general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Strengthen the legislative framework on gender equality and eliminate sex-based or gender-based discrimination;

(b) Amend article 3 of the Constitution and Act No. 205/1993 to protect lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons from intersecting forms of discrimination or hate crimes;

(c) Accord priority to measures to expedite legal proceedings and improve the treatment of victims of gender-based violence against women and to eliminate gender stereotyping within the judiciary;

(d)Ensure that intersecting forms of discrimination are adequately addressed by courts, including through training for judges and lawyers.

Women and peace and security

19.The Committee commends the State party on its commitment to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and on the launch of its national action plan on women and peace and security, covering the period 2016‑2019, in December 2016, as well as its role in promoting the women and peace and security agenda in countries in conflict or post-conflict situations. The Committee is, nevertheless, concerned about the export of arms by the State party, including to conflict zones, and the absence of a specific mechanism for gender-based violence risk