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UNITED
NATIONS
Distr.
GENERAL
CEDAW/C/ITA/3
9 June 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
(CEDAW)
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER
ARTICLE 18 OF THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL
FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
Third periodic reports of States parties
ITALY*
ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION
* For the initial report submitted by the Government of
Italy, see CEDAW/C/5/Add.62; for its consideration by the
Committee, see CEDAW/C/SR.172, and CEDAW/C/SR.178, and Official
Records of the General Assembly, forty-sixth session Supplement
No. 38 (A/46/38) paras. 43-83. For the second periodic reports
submitted by the Government of Italy, see CEDAW/C/ITA/2.
Articles 1, 2, 4. Actions against discrimination and for
advancement of women: from equal opportunities to mainstreaming and
empowerment
I. Introductory notes
1. Since the presentation of the Second National Report, Italy
has undergone major changes. After developments in the
international arena, and the investigation against corruption
known as the "Clean Hands" operation, the whole political and
institutional scenario was profoundly transformed. Following two
early General Elections (1994 and 1996), in 1996 the "Olive Tree"
center-left coalition headed by Mr. Romano Prodi won a
parliamentary majority and formed a government.
2. The new Cabinet inherited a very difficult financial and
economic situation. The public debt was over 120% of GDP, the
deficit was 6.8% of GDP, the lira was undervalued and outside the
European Monetary System. Inflation rates were over 4%,
unemployment had soared to over 12%. The need to rebalance the
budget, provide stability, and foster economic recovery, has led
to restrictive budgetary policies. This policy has been further
accelerated by the government's firm determination to meet the
economic criteria set by the Maastricht Treaty, and be among the
first entrants in the European Economic and Monetary Union. The
results of this action are quite substantial: the lira has re-
entered the European Monetary System; inflation has fallen below
2%; the deficit has nearly reached the 3% target. Though there is
still debate in Europe as to who will eventually join the single
currency, the government is confident targets will be met, and is
demanding a new stage in European unity, moving beyond mere
monetary union, towards deeper political unity and social
cohesion. This does not mean that all Italian problems have been solved.
Far-reaching reforms are needed in the structure of the state, in
its institutions and political system, in its economic and social
policies. Combining budget re-balancing with adequate standards
of social solidarity and equal opportunities for all citizens is
a major challenge and will require a very complex effort. Social
differences are still wide, and in some cases widening. Poverty
is a real and growing problem, which in 1995 affected 10.6% of
Italian families. 68% of these families live in Southern Italy.
The gap between the North and South of the country is a source of
social injustice in the South and deep discontent in the North.
3. The most dramatic feature in this framework is still
unemployment. In Northern Italy, unemployment rates equal those
of Northern Europe (6.6%), but the number of job seekers is
extremely high in the South (21.7%), among young people (33.8%)
and among women (16.6%). As described below, however, the data
concerning women need to be interpreted taking into account a
number of different social and cultural factors as well, and
particularly women's increasing role in the workforce.
4. The same complexity is found in all aspects of women's life.
Of all the changes that Italy has gone through in the last twenty
years, the transformation in women's self-identity, desires,
experiences and position in society is one of the most impressive
and all-pervasive. Girls are reaching important results in
education and skills; women are by now a stable part of the
workforce, women's employment rates are rising, especially in the
public administration and tertiary sectors; and women are playing
an increasingly important role in business, while continuing to
provide care for the family and personal relationships.
5. In such a situation, the unprecedented decision taken by the center-left
government, to appoint a Minister for Equal Opportunities as one of the
members of the new Cabinet, has a significance which goes far beyond the mere
concept of equal opportunities. With this choice,
mainstreaming a gender perspective into all government policies has visibly
become one of the elements of the transition needed in Italy.
2. Background
6. To better focus the main aspects of this transition we have
to take into account the previous experience of Italian women's
movements, and their impact on political and institutional
developments.
7. Historically, gender difference has been tackled through a
mixture of policies aimed at protection and parity. In the
Italian experience parity was meant as equality between women and
men. This equality, however, was understood as women's effort to
achieve the same positions and behavior models as men. In this
way parity denied gender difference. Protection, on the other
hand, recognized gender difference, but only as inferiority and
disadvantage.
8. The Italian Constitution stated the principle of formal and
de facto equality among all citizens in article 3: "All citizens
are equal before the law, without any distinctions based on sex,
race, language, religion, political opinions, social and personal
conditions" (par. 1). "The Republic must remove all economic and
social obstacles which, de facto limiting citizens' freedom and
equality, prevent the full development of the human person and
real participation of all workers in the political, economic and
social organization of the country" (par. 2). Furthermore,
article 51 states that "Citizens of both sexes can access public
posts and elective positions on an equal footing, on the basis of
requirements laid down by legislation (par. 1).
9. After stating this important principle, however, the Italian Constitution
contains the contradiction between parity and protection: "Working women have
the same rights as men and are entitled to equal pay for equal work. Working
conditions must enable women to fulfill their essential family function and
must ensure special adequate protection for mothers and children"
(art. 37).
10. Despite these contradictions in the basic approach prevailing at the time,
the emancipation movement of the post-war period led to many important
achievements related to legal equality and motherhood, such as equal pay and
maternity rights. The movement was quite strong and included women from the
three major cultural and political trends of Italian society, Catholic,
Socialist and Communist.
11. In the 1970s Italy witnessed the emergence of a widespread
feminist movement. Conflict between this new culture and the
experience both of the emancipation movement and of women active
in political parties was quite strong. However, the dialogue
between these approaches, parallel to the deep changes in
lifestyles and mentality occurring in Italian society, led to a
season of important changes in legislation and in the social
scene.
12. New laws approved in this period included: the Divorce Act
(1970), Maternity Act (1971), New Family Law (1975),
Establishment of Childcare facilities (1971) and of Healthcare
and Social Support Centers for Women and Families (1975), the
Abortion Act (1978). Both the Divorce and the Abortion Acts were
confirmed by referendums in 1974 and 1981, with a vast majority
of votes.
13. The Law on Parity at Work and in Employment was adopted in
1977; it strengthened women's position through the elimination of
the most discriminatory wage and legal provisions, recognized the
equal value of family care for women and men, and introduced
fiscal incentives to women's employment. This law repealed the
most protective measures, but did not change the different
retirement age for women (still in force at present) and the
provision forbidding night work for women in the manufacturing
industry, though with possible waivers through collective
bargaining.
14. As described in the 1993 Report, new laws were passed in the
early nineties, marking the passage from womenþs protection to
equal opportunities. In 1990 the National Commission on Equality
and Equal Opportunities between women and men was officially
established as a consultative body under the authority of the
Prime Ministerþs Office. In 1991 new legislation was adopted on
positive actions to implement equal opportunities between women
and men at work and on employment issues. The main points in the
Positive Action Act of 1991 were: the definition of indirect
discrimination as a "prejudicial treatment following the adoption
of criteria which may place workers of either sex at a
proportionately greater disadvantage and which relate to
requirements not essential to the performance of the work in
question"; the possibility of civil action against direct and
indirect discrimination at work, with reversal of the burden of
proof on employers accused of discrimination; special funds for
positive action projects in the workplaces, managed by the
National Committee for Equality and Equal Opportunities, under
the authority of the Ministry of Labour.
15. The law generalized and strengthened the role of "equality
counselors" introduced by previous legislation, extending their
presence at national, regional and provincial level. Not all
Regions have appointed these figures; furthermore, most equality
counselors have complained of difficulties in performing their
tasks, due to lack of facilities, of staffing, and of adequate
means to receive all complaints against discrimination and take
effective measures.
16. In 1995, the Labor Committee of the Senate carried out an
investigation to monitor the implementation of the Positive
Action Act, reporting that some of its basic parts had not been
implemented at all. Up to the present time, despite procedures
for civil action against discrimination which are very favourable
to plaintiffs, the number of civil actions actually taken to
court has been statistically irrelevant.
17. The only aspect of this Act which has been implemented
concerns the funding of positive action projects, with an
allocation of 10 billion liras per year. The Senate Committee
Report, however, highlighted a number of problems: a decrease in
the number of projects, major imbalances between North and South
of the country, vast prevalence of education projects and
scarcity of projects submitted by businesses and targeted at
changes in work organisation and working time schemes (with
positive exceptions at Italtel, Zanussi and ENEL). Despite the
concern expressed with such authority by the Senate, no changes
have been witnessed since the presentation of its Report. Serious
consideration is needed on whether it is the founding principles
behind this law, and not only its implementation, that need to be
revised.
18. Another equal opportunities law passed in 1992 was aimed at
the promotion of women in business (Act 215/92). The Committee
responsible for allocating the relative funds was established in
1996, following an initiative by the Minister for Equal
Opportunities.
3. Rethinking Positive Actions: legal and political debate
19. In 1993, Parliament adopted a new law for local elections.
This provision was incorporated in the act: neither sex should be
represented in the electoral lists by a percentage higher than
2/3. In 1995, however, the Italian Constitutional Court repealed
this article, because of contrast with the Equality
constitutional principle. Since citizens are equal before the
law, without any distinctions based on sex, race, language,
religion, political opinions, social and personal conditions,
positive actions can be aimed only at removing social and
economic disadvantages and giving women equal opportunities, but
cannot directly provide results of equal representation, and
anyway cannot affect fundamental rights. In this way the
Constitutional Court very strictly limited the scope of positive
actions, including only the measures aimed at overcoming material
disadvantages, while leaving to politics the task of reaching
gender-balanced representation within the institutions.
20. Following the difficulties that all these new laws have met,
either in their implementation, or in the nature of their basic
principles, a debate has started both in women's movements and at
institutional level on how to overcome these difficulties and
adopt more effective measures.
21. Developments at European level have confirmed the need to
rethink and revise the approach to parity and equal opportunities
legislation. In 1995 the European Court of Justice (Case C-
450/93, Kalanke v. Freie Hansestadt Bremen) declared the
illegittimacy of an act issued by Lander Brema, as contrasting
E.C. Directive 76/207 on equality. The European Court questioned
the basic principles behind the adoption in this act of
preferential criteria for the promotion of women at work with
arguments not dissimilar from those of the Italian Constitutional
Court. More specifically, it argued that positive actions must
only rebalance negative effects of social structures on women,
and must not substitute a policy aimed at equal opportunities
with a policy aimed at directly ensuring equal results.
22. These developments do not directly concern Italy, as Italian
policies never adopted either quotas or preferential criteria,
except in the above-mentioned case of the electoral law. Even the
1991 legislation introduced the concept of positive actions as a
remedy to indirect discrimination, but did not include any
preferential criteria. However, Italian gender-based policies in
the 1990s were founded on the same principles followed abroad.
Women were addressed by special measures as victims of historical
discrimination, and therefore were treated as a disadvantaged
social group.
23. In the debate about equal opportunities policies, the Italian
experience is interpreted in two different ways. In the first
interpretation, legislation did adopt the fundamental principle
that different groups must be treated in different ways; the
reason why quotas or preferential programs were never adopted was
only that legislators were too timid or even inconsistent in
their own approach. This interpretation would lead to a revision
based on the adoption of quotas and preferential systems.
24. In the second interpretation, Italian legislators never
intended to abandon the principle of equal treatment of all
individuals under the law; the idea of positive actions was
considered by them strictly as a remedy against direct or
indirect individual discrimination and did not imply preferential
treatment addressed specifically to women as a social group.
Theoretically men could complain of gender-based discrimination
just like women. This interpretation suggests that deeper changes
are needed.
4. Gender difference is not a disadvantage
25. In revising Equal Opportunities legislation, the main
question is: are women as such to be treated as a disadvantaged
or oppressed social group? First, it is necessary to start from
facts and basic trends.
26. As previously stated, in recent years Italian employment
levels have fallen (from 48.8 in 1993 to 41.8 in 1996) and the
employment position of women is worse than that of men. Within
this general framework, however, while male employment rates have
fallen substantially, and particularly among the young (from
80.7% to 76.3 in the 25-34 age group, and from 90 to 87.7%
between 35 and 54), the situation is quite different among women.
Employment rates have fallen less steeply among young women (from
49.4 to 46.9% in the 25-34 age group) and have actually increased
(from 45.4 to 46.9%) between 35 and 54 years of age. On the
whole, women's employment rates have risen: from 34.9 to 35.8%.
This phenomenon is first of all due to the fact that women's
pressure on the labour market has increased: the percentage of
unemployed women has risen in all age groups, even those which
have witnessed a parallel increase in women's employment, such as
the 35-54 age group (from 45.4 to 46.9% employed women; from 6.9
to 8.5% unemployed). Clearly this is due to the fact that only at
this time in history women have emerged as a stable part of the
workforce.
27. The second reason for women's relatively positive employment
trends is due to the fact that women are mainly employed in the
tertiary sector, where employment levels are growing, while the
heaviest job losses are found in agriculture and industry. Young
women have invested in education more than young men: in 1995,
63% of girls had attained high school education, against 55% of
young men. This greater educational investment has borne fruits
for women, both in terms of jobs and professional positions.
Business women have risen between 1993 and 1996 (from 9.8 to
11.8% in industry, and from 24.2 to 25.9% in retail trade), and
so have employed women in the transport and credit sectors (from
24.4 to 27%) and in Public Administration (from 52.4 to 54.1%).
28. These facts are a sign of the deep changes affecting Italian
women. Their educational levels, their economic independence,
their work and professional positions have significantly
improved. These results have been achieved at times of great
economic difficulty, and of low social pressure from the
organized labour movement and women's movement. As in Italy there
have never been preferential programs, it is clear that they have
been obtained without the aid of this kind of policy. They have
been possible because of a number of complex historical, social
and cultural factors. Among them, a crucial role has been played
by changes in women's subjectivity, by women's new assertiveness
in all spheres of their life.
29. One of the reasons why affirmative action is now criticized,
concerns precisely the question of subjectivity. It has been
argued that preferential treatment often leads the beneficiaries
themselves to self-doubt, and identifies members of the entitled
social groups as people with low standards of qualification. What
is discussed here is not whether this criticism is correct when
applied to comprehensive policies towards minorities, which was
very important in the recent past, in breaking down major social
and cultural barriers. The point is whether they are applicable
to women, and to women in Italy, at this specific time in
history.
30. Introducing quotas or preferential systems at this time,
could imply returning to a false image of women, identifying them
with low standards just when these low standards have been
surpassed by women themselves, through their own struggle and
assertiveness. Even to remove those barriers that are still
present in our society, legislation should be aimed at empowering
this new assertiveness and desire for change, rather than
substitute it with measures from above that leave the situation
unchanged except in quantitative terms.
31. Of course this does not mean that there are no women in need,
or discriminated against. Many women are weak, and need
protection or social relief. Considering all women as a
disadvantaged group, however, does not help to understand real
disadvantages that some women suffer from, and the way in which
they interact with gender difference. Women in Southern Italy,
for example, are certainly disadvantaged in terms of their access
to healthcare, employment and public services, both compared to
women in other parts of the country and to men in the same area,
who are not burdened by the same amount of caring activities. And
yet, in terms of education levels, Southern women have reached
higher results than both other women and men, thanks to their own
assertiveness and possibly even to their greater difficulties in
finding a job. Removing their specific disadvantages, therefore,
requires more than mere equal opportunities policies. It requires
a set of targeted economic and social policies, that will empower
these women and enhance their own objective assets and subjective
strength, rather than focusing on how much they are discriminated
against.
32. Focusing on individual and social advantages and
disadvantages, rather than on women's assumed disadvantage as
group, implies considering women as individuals, who belong to
upper, middle or lower classes, to Northern or Southern Italy, to
different age and ethnic groups.
33. Ethnic difference, in fact, is a relatively new reality in
Italian society, and a possible factor of substantial
disadvantage. As shall be described in the various chapters of
this Report, some immigrant women suffer specific forms of both
racial and gender discrimination. Equal opportunities policies,
however, have seldom been used to defend the rights of these
women, and there are no cases in which they have proved to be
really effective. Even in the most extreme cases, such as that of
protection from violence (see art.3), or of trafficking in women
for the purpose of sexual exploitation (see art.6), specific
protection measures have proved effective only when very clearly
targeted, and combined with specific empowerment efforts, aimed
at making it possible for the women concerned to take their
destiny into their own hands.
34. Poverty seems to be a factor of disadvantage which affects
women more heavily than men; and increasingly so. Out of all poor
families, households headed by women were 10.2% in 1994, and
became 11.7% in 1995. In the same year, poverty was a problem
affecting 14.2% of individuals over the age of 65 living alone
and 13.2% of single parents with children under age. In 1994, the
respective percentages were lower: 12.8 and 11.8. Both these
categories are for the vast majority of cases represented by
women.
35. Specific policies targeted at understanding and eradicating
the causes of women's greater poverty have not yet been adopted,
or even discussed. The ability of equal opportunities policies to
perform this task, however, is highly questionable; since the
main problem is not direct gender discrimination, but the
interaction between women's social position, family roles, and
other factors such as age and geographical differences. Once
again, the real challenge seems to be focused on mainstreaming a
gender perspective into welfare reform, and other social policies
targeted at eliminating the social exclusion suffered by these
and other disadvantaged groups of people. (see later in this
chapter, and art. 3).
36. Exclusion from power and decision-making seems to be the only
discrimination universally shared by all women, except a tiny
minority. It is highly questionable, however, whether this
discrimination can be described and tackled as a "disadvantage".
As will be extensively described under articles 7 and 8, many
women have taken a step backward from political and decision-
making structures out of their own choice, as a form of open or
unspoken criticism towards the way in which these structures
operate, or towards the content of their decisions. Other women
have been excluded because of their positions, or their
unwillingness to comply with dominant ideas and practices. In
other words, to overcome the democratic deficit shown by women's
under-representation in all power structures, policies will have
to tackle the very content and practice of decision-making,
rather than focusing on discrimination as an isolated factor.
5. Guidelines for revising equal opportunities legislation:
towards mainstreaming and empowerment
37. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was a major
breakthrough in the discussion about equality and gender
difference. The ideas of mainstreaming and women's empowerment
have strengthened the new perspective, moving beyond the
traditional approach of equal opportunities, as was emerging from
the analysis of existing Italian legislation.
38. Mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies, implies
a profound change which goes to the heart of these policies, and
the assumption that women are not an oppressed group needing
protection, but half of the population, which is reaching high
standards of education and skills. In this new perspective,
gender difference is the opposite of a disadvantage: it is a
valuable asset for the advancement of the whole society.
39. In the 1996 UN World Population Report it is stated that
women are necessary to economic development, especially in
emerging countries. It is male domination, patriarchal ideology
and prohibitions imposed on women in the fields of education,
jobs and personal relationships, that hinder the full use of the
material and human resources available to society. This is clear
when considering some of the unsolved challenges in today's
world, particularly on our continent, such as unemployment,
welfare reform or environmental protection. It is not women's
culture, but male-dominated economic culture, entirely based on
monetary values and production-oriented, which is at a
disadvantage in coping with the challenge of creating jobs at a
time of technological innovation, productivity rises, and high
environmental risk.
40. Examining the recent experience of "jobless recovery",
economists have argued that employment growth will not result
from increased production, but basically from two sources:
reduction and reorganization of working time, and development in
non traditional sectors like education, services, and
environmental protection -- first and foremost in the non-profit
sector. Both these policies imply a deep change of perspective on
economic issues. They imply a focus on caring of human beings and
of living things, rather than on profit-making and financial
indicators: precisely that culture and experience that had so
long been considered women's "disadvantage" in the labour market.
And they require skills and understanding of the relationship
between productive and reproductive work: women's skills, so long
considered inessential to economic growth.
41. This is a new idea of valuing gender difference, that cannot
be identified with equal opportunities policies. There is no
continuity between the two approaches, though the best
experiences in the implementation of equal opportunities
legislation have to be taken into account, such as best practice
in the enforcement of the Positive Action Act. Indeed, monitoring
projects of positive actions at work funded by special funds
established through this law, has proved that the best results
are not achieved through preferential criteria, but through
relevant changes in the whole work organization. In other words,
these projects have proved effective only when they have moved
beyond the equal opportunities approach, and introduced some
elements of mainstreaming and women's empowerment.
42. Since her appointment, the Minister for Equal Opportunities,
has realised that these two concepts are the key to tackle the
reform of equal opportunities legislation. The effort to adopt
effective measures based on these concepts produced a Prime
Minister's Directive issued on March 7th 1997 indicating to all
ministries strategic objectives and actions to implement the
Beijing Platform for Action. One significant objective of the Directive is
related to gender- sensitive monitoring on the social situation. Over the last
years the government and the National Institute for Statistics (ISTAT)
have implemented gender-based statistics. For the first time
national data collection has included gender-disaggregated data.
Furthermore, ISTAT has developed new social studies which have
provided new information about women's health, the division of
labor between the sexes and the "use of time 1/", reproductive
health issues as risk pregnancies. This method must be extended
to all statistical surveys.
43. Specific issues indicated in the Directive are described
under the different articles in this Report. To enable
mainstreaming of a gender perspective, the Directive has stressed
the need for adequate institutional machinery: its features and
structures are currently under discussion. Permanent coordination
among the activities of all government ministries, and regular
monitoring on the gender impact of government policies is
essential to avoid the danger of going back to gender-neutral
policies.
44. In recent years a network of equal opportunities bodies was
developed at local level, attracting many politically active
women. These bodies however have often been confined to a merely
consultative role, without an effective impact on local
government policies. A reform a national mainstreaming machinery
is needed at both local and national level.
45. Furthermore, the experience of the Minister for Equal
Opportunities has shown that the ideas of mainstreaming and
women's empowerment have to proceed together. For this reason, it
is necessary to create a specific body, linked to the government
but endowed with substantial political and operational
independence, capable of establishing direct relations with civil
society and women's associations, and of funding research
projects and cultural activities, as well as initiatives aimed at
women's empowerment.
46. In revising legislation about equal opportunities at work it
is also necessary to revise the basic idea of indirect
discrimination. Is this idea actually valid to tackle women's
problems, especially in the work environment? This was one of the
questions discussed in the recent Conference on "The Moving
Borders of Inequality", (Florence, 21-22 February 1997), promoted
by the National Committee for Equality and Equal Opportunities,
under the authority of the Ministry of Labour. In fact, changes
in work organisation have highlighted that something new is
happening in gender relations at the workplace, related not to
discrimination, but to the allocation of decision-making power
and to the position of women and men in decision-making. In this
challenge, which may amount to a veritable conflict, women are
indeed less prepared and strong than men. But this is something
different from traditional discrimination.
47. Partly for this reason, it is also necessary to revise legal
instruments against discrimination. It is necessary to understand
why civil action and judicial protection in general have not
proved effective on these issues, and not only in Italy. In other
European countries even some strong advocates of positive actions
argue that traditional mechanisms of individual litigation are an
inadequate basis upon which to enforce the principles against
indirect discrimination. To tackle the real problems of gender
relations at work, it is necessary to have the means to influence
work organisation, rather than the personal situation of the
individual female worker. It may be necessary to aim for
institutional machinery with the powers of control and
impartiality typical of judicial authority, but at the same time
entitled to adopt political initiatives on general issues and
individual cases. Its structure and tools are currently under
discussion.
6. Mainstreaming a gender perspective into welfare reform
48. The main test to value the impact of mainstreaming policies
is welfare reform; and gender and social impact of welfare reform
is the test of its real value for society, as indicated in the
March 7th Directive.
49. At present, the guidelines for welfare reform are under
discussion both in the country and within the government, in a
context where welfare systems have serious difficulties in every
part of the world. The "male breadwinner regime", founded on the
traditional division of roles between the sexes, and strongly
protecting people who work full-time and for the market, is
shaking under the impact of major economic, social, and cultural
changes. Financially, it can no longer stand the impact of longer
life expectancy after retirement. Socially, it is beginning to
shake under the impact of women's presence in the labour market.
Culturally, it has lost authority and dynamism: in modern
society, the most innovative social actors are not full time
adult male workers, but young people and women. If welfare reform
is to provide social cohesion and a new sense of citizenship, it
should be focused on these innovative actors, and move from the
breadwinner regime to a combination of universalism and gender
perspective.
50. First, women should be considered as individuals, and not as
mothers, spouses, or anyway segments of the family unit, as
traditional Italian welfare policies have always classified them.
In this model, women's caring was essential but unrecognized,
while women's social citizenship depended on the family. Gender-
sensitive welfare reform, on the contrary, should be focused on
women's individual rights, and should calculate their
entitlements fully taking into account their unpaid work and
caring activities. Measures at present under discussion with the
social partners, such as a Basic Income and a support fund for
non-self-reliant people, can respond to this need, provided they
are carefully targeted, managed by local communities, and
integrated with social support and proactive labour market
policies, aimed at empowering people rather than trapping them
into dependence from public subsidies. They should respond to
specific needs completely overlooked by the present system, such
as those of single mothers. Meanwhile, the specific gender impact
of pension reform measures should be carefully monitored (see
art.11).
51. The new welfare system should not be focused only on monetary
transfers, but should include the creation of adequate care-
providing and social services. In this perspective, the
apparently unsolvable conflict between generations, which would
result from merely shifting resources from pensions to support
services for young job-seekers, can find new solutions. A recent
study promoted by one of the pensioners' unions 2/ has
calculated that organising a domestic help service for elderly
people who need it (42% of those living alone, and 25% of elderly
couples) would lead to creating 62.000 new jobs for young people.
The cost of this and other services provided for elderly
dependent people directly in their homes could be offset by
savings in the healthcare system, due to reduced cases of
unnecessary hospitalization or domestic accidents. These and
other innovative services in the field of care-providing,
environmental protection, and prevention of social exclusion, are
being developed in the non-profit sector, which in Italy still
has vast space for development, since it represents only 1.8% of
the workforce, as opposed to 4.2% in France and 6.8% in the USA.
3/ The government is preparing draft legislation to support and
regulate the non profit sector, currently under discussion.
52. The new welfare system should be characterised by welfare
communities or municipalities, rather than by a welfare state.
This is in line with the current Italian trend towards greater
decentralisation, contemplated by a number of government bills.
National guidelines on how to set up and/or reorganise local
social relief and care-providing activities are being drafted by
the government, and will be ready by the end of the year. They
will be based on the most innovative local experiences, which
include a comprehensive model of social citizenship, high quality
of services (including home-services for the elderly and courses
in care-giving for fathers), and a mix of public, private and non
profit activities. Regional and municipal authorities will also
develop their local social relief plans.
53. To overcome the "breadwinner regime", new proactive
employment policies should be targeted at diversifying the
dominant full-time working pattern. Both working men and women
should be given the possibility of choosing between different
schemes of shorter working time; otherwise part-time will be, as
at present, a new form of segregation for women only. The Welfare
Reform Plan which the government is currently discussing with the
social partners includes incentives for reductions of working
time targeted at employment growth. Measures to introduce working
time flexibility and a greater balance between work and personal
life are indicated in the March 7th Directive, and refer to both
working hours, the possibility of adopting different working time
patterns during the different stages of people's lifecycle, and
provisions regulating the "use of time" at municipal level. On
this issue, the basic law regulating the powers of municipal
authorities has recently been amended following a proposal by the
Minister for Equal Opportunities. The new provision has given
mayors the power to reorganise hours and schedules of all
municipal facilities, in order to harmonise them and enhance
people's possibility to reconcile different needs related to
work, personal life, and access to public services.
54. In short, a gender perspective on welfare reform should not
be focused on the conflict between budgetary constraints and
protection of basic social rights and entitlements, but on
different use of resources: a targeted and truly universalist
welfare system, which does not cancel but includes and values
gender difference.
Article 3. Human rights and fundamental freedoms
55. In a democratic country like Italy, the enjoyment of human
rights and fundamental freedoms is ensured equally for all
citizens, with no gender discrimination. The Italian
Constitution, written jointly by all the democratic forces which
had fought together against fascism, has this as one of its basic
principles.
56. Despite this, for decades both legislation, social actors and
the judiciary, have systematically underestimated those forms of
violence and violation of human dignity which are specifically
targeted against women. In the last decades, a new frontier of
human rights and fundamental freedoms has been indicated by
women's movements, and by the widespread growth of a new
awareness among women. Full control over one's life and body,
freedom from violence, freedom of choice in all aspects of public
and private life are now considered by most women as an integral
part of their fundamental freedom and of the general approach to
human rights.
1. Freedom from sexual violence
57. The new law against sexual violence (n.66 of February 15th
1996) is part of this complex path to assert women's freedom.
Drafting the new legislation was one of the longest processes in
the history of the Italian Parliament. In 1979, after a number of
famous rape cases and trials which had shaken public opinion, a
number of groups in the women's movement collected 387.000
signatures under the text of a "people's bill" 4/ on rape, and
deposited it in Parliament. The text was very controversial even
among women's groups, but stimulated widespread debate in the
country, about a crime which until then had almost always been
kept under a cloak of silence. This debate exposed widespread
social acceptance of rapists, obsolete legislative provisions and
court practices which turned victims of rape into suspects whose
lives and habits were systematically investigated and slandered
not only by rapists and their lawyers, but often even by judges.
58. Despite this, limits in the suggested text, divisions in the
women's movement and most of all lack of interest on the part of
politicians, led to twenty years' delay before the law was
finally passed. In the course of those years, cases of sexual
violence against women not only did not decline, but steadily
increased. Between 1992 and 1995, complaints for the crimes now
"merged" into the single crime of sexual violence (rape, violent
indecent assault, indecent assault) rose from 2755 to 3876.
59. In the early 1980s, self-organised women's support centres
began to be created to respond to the needs of women who had been
subject to violence. They provided hot lines, counseling, legal
aid, and other forms of support to women in need. At present,
there are over eighty such centres in various parts of Italy, run
by women and wholly or partly funded by local authorities.
60. The new law passed in 1996 is the result of patient
negotiations and compromise among women Members of Parliament
across the whole political spectrum, from the extreme right to
the extreme left, without any mediation by party leaders or male
colleagues. Some points in the new legislation were criticised by
groups within the feminist movement, but all welcomed the most
important change which it introduced: the classification of
sexual violence as a crime against the person and no longer as an
offence against public morality, as in the previous legislation,
passed in the years of fascism.
61. Other points introduced by the new law were: there is no
difference between rape and "violent indecent assault", but one
single crime of "sexual violence", defined on the basis of lack
of consent on the victim's part and no longer according to the
nature of the acts committed; the victim can decide whether or
not to press charges, but if a charge is pressed prosecution will
continue even if the charge is subsequently withdrawn by the
injured party; questions on the private life or sexuality of the
victim are not admissible in investigation and court proceedings;
punishment is more severe, particularly in cases of violence
against children; sexual acts committed on persons under fourteen
(sixteen if the person who commits them is a parent or person to
whom the minor is entrusted) are considered sexual violence even
if there is consent on the part of the minor concerned, but are
not punishable if committed on a minor of at least thirteen years
of age by another minor who is not more than three years older.
62. The March 7th Directive demands statistical studies on
phenomena related to rape and sexual abuse, and other abusive
practices, including those in the family and in the workplace,
and a standing observatory on violence against women and
children.
2. Freedom from domestic violence
63. Domestic violence is an increasingly serious phenomenon in
all industrialised countries, no longer limited to situations of
social disruption and extreme poverty, but widespread among all
social classes. It is difficult to measure its size, since most
cases of domestic violence go unreported, and are hidden by the
victims themselves. Between 1992 and 1995, reported cases which
have led to legal complaints for domestic violence have risen
from 1,907 to 2,097. It is impossible to determine how many of
the 1,800,000 domestic accidents reported every year may indeed
be cases of battering, as is quite common in cases of broken
bones and teeth, bruises, and other similar pathologies usually
attributed to falls from ladders, bumping into doors, or slipping
on wet floors. Statistical studies and a standing observatory on
violence against women and children are demanded by the March 7th
Directive.
64. Until now, the only alternative open to women who wished to
escape from domestic violence was leaving their homes and finding
shelter elsewhere. Shelters for battered women and their children
have been created by women's groups in Bologna, Milan, Rome,
Venice, Palermo, Merano, Parma, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Livorno.
These are managed by the same centres which provide support for
women victims of sexual violence.
65. Leaving home, however, adds further suffering to the
condition of battered women. For this reason, the Office of the
Minister for Equal Opportunities has prepared draft legislation
to enable the urgent removal of violent husbands, cohabitants, or
other adult relatives from the family home and from the vicinity
of places usually frequented by the aggrieved party, such as
workplace, home of family of origin, etc. This latter measure
intends to relieve victims from the painful daily persecution
which often occurs when she has escaped from a violent partner.
66. The removal order can last up to six months and if needed can
be prolonged for three more months. It can be applied in those
situations where prison custody would not be applicable, as is
most common in most cases of domestic violence. It can result
from either criminal charges or civil action, and can be
justified by serious indications that the defendant is guilty of
the reported crime, or, in the civil action, by injury to the
health of the woman concerned. Civil action maybe simpler and
speedier, and fit the needs of those women who do not really wish
to press a criminal charge, but simply wish to be free from a
situation of violence. In both cases, measures to ensure the
payment of alimony are provided for whenever applicable.
67. This draft legislation has been submitted to the Council of
Ministers for approval as a government-initiated bill.
3. Freedom from racism
68. In recent years Italy has witnessed a resurgence of racism
and xenophobia, mainly targeted against immigrants from countries
outside the European Union. As in other European countries,
campaigns exploit widespread fears related to unemployment growth
and possible competition for increasingly scarce jobs, as well as
the demand for law and order expressed by the population in areas
where the presence of organised crime is a source of insecurity
and social disruption and "foreigners" an easy scapegoat on which
to lay the blame. Women have frequently been victims of these
campaigns. In fact, contrary to what is preached by racists,
there is no "foreign invasion". There are about 1,000,000 foreign
workers in Italy, 827,416 of whom are from countries outside the
EU. They occupy segments of the labour market which Italians are
unwilling to enter, such as heavy industrial work, agriculture,
fishing and domestic help. Women are the vast majority of the
latter, particularly in Central Italy, where the high presence of
domestic workers from the Philippines and the Cape Verde Islands
has led to a 48.5% presence of women among immigrants, as opposed
to 58.3% of men in industrialised Northern Italy and 60.3% of men
in the agricultural and fishing areas of Sicily and Sardinia.
69. Measures to ensure that immigrant women and men are correctly
received and integrated in Italian society are among the key
tools for eradicating racism and xenophobia. The Italian
government has drafted new legislation, now under parliamentary
scrutiny, on immigration policies and regulation of entry into
and residence in Italy of citizens from outside the European
Union. Article 2 of this bill states the very important principle
that fundamental human rights are recognized to all foreigners,
independently of their nationality or legal status. Access to
urgent healthcare treatment, and to all rights related to social
protection in the case of pregnancy, is ensured for both
registered and unregistered immigrants, and cannot entail any
form of reporting to police authorities. Mandatory schooling is
ensured to all children, with the same rights as Italian
children. As to the right to family reunion, important provisions
on this issue were suggested by the Office of the Minister for
Equal Opportunities, and included in the government bill.
Residence permits for spouses and children under age can be
required by immigrants who have had a residence permit for at
least two years, and who can provide adequate housing and income
for their families.
70. These developments are part of the effort to give a new
meaning to the concept of "European citizenship", rethinking
traditional links between nationality, country of origin, country
of residence, and basic rights. According to the new bill, for
foreigners who have a regular residence permit these rights
include the right of representation and participation in the
public life of their local community, including voting rights in
local elections. This provision follows the experience by some
Italian municipalities, which have introduced in their
representative bodies "additional" local councillors with
consultative powers, elected by immigrants among representatives
of their communities. Considering the important role of women in
local political and community life (see art.7-8), this new
experience could prove interesting for immigrant women.
Article 5. Gender stereotypes
71. While women are achieving increasingly important objectives
in society, the conventional image of women continues to thrive.
This stereotype suggests that the essence of gender diversity
lies in submission and disadvantage, and it perpetuates the time-
old division of roles between men and women in the sphere of
family relationships.
72. One of the main vehicles for the stereotype of women as a
disadvantaged social group consists in the institutional policy
towards women. The Office of the Minister for Equal Opportunities
has based its work on the idea of converting this stereotype to
convey an image of female strength and freedom, and offer a more
faithful reflection of the reality of Italian women today.
73. The mass media is a prime source of typically negative female
stereotypes. Advertising continues to focus on the image of women
as the exclusive targets of all promotional messages relating to
the household. This image of a housewife overlaps with another
projection of male imagination, namely that of a beautiful and
sophisticated woman, the alluring object of male desire. In the
last few years a new image of an emancipated, career woman has
also made its appearance, but this image almost always has strong
masculine overtones, as if a working woman were necessarily one-
dimensional. There have been very few cases, and then only in
very recent times, in which advertising has represented a woman
manager who has kept her role as a mother, or has represented men
as the object of female desire.
74. In the vast majority of cases, commercial ads continue to
emphasize the more traditional and obsolete aspects of women's
lives, either in the patriarchal-family version or in the
complementary, emancipation-type model.
75. Neither of these two images faithfully reflect the current
reality of women. Women are active agents of change, at least in
the young and middle-age groups, in a society in which
conventional organizational models in the public and private
sphere are irremediably obsolete.
76. The Office of the Minister for Equal Opportunities has
promoted a campaign for the promotion of women in business,
promoting the value of womenþs skills as fully in keeping with
modern times. The image conveyed is one of flexibility,
creativity, the ability to cover several roles and to take
advantage of the culture acquired, which goes well beyond that of
traditional roles. This image is certainly in line with current
trends, and it mirrors a well established reality, borne out by
the fact that a global-scale company such as McCann has agreed to
invest in this project and provide its services free of charge.
77. The family is another setting in which stereotypes of
womanhood are produced. The caring workload is still shared very
unequally among couples. Between 70.3% and 56.6% of men, with or
without children respectively, dedicate a marginal part of their
time to service and caring for their families (1h48' and 1h24'),
while women dedicate the better part of their time (7h48'). There
appears to be more collaboration in the younger age brackets, but
in the older population all housework is performed exclusively by
women. The couples tend to hand on to their children an
educational message in which traditional role models are heavily
emphasized.
78. The transmission of a certain idea of gender roles is largely
based on the unequal allocation of domestic chores between sons
and daughters. But gender roles are also passed on in different
ways. Recent studies by the national statistics institute (ISTAT)
indicate that families orient their sons more than their
daughters towards technology, and in particular towards
information technology.
79. The most relevant changes are to be expected in the next
generation, that of the sons and daughters of mothers who are
between 40 and 50 years of age, and who experienced the greatest
degree of changes in womenþs attitudes and lifestyles in their
youth. The next generation should began to reap the benefits of
these changes in experiences and self-perception with greater
freedom and mutual respect, both within the couple and in
parental relationships with their own children. These changes
cannot be induced on an institutional plane. They can only come
about through the full expression of women's freedom. However,
institutions may support the process of societal change,
especially through targeted programs in schools.
Article 6, part 1. Measures to suppress all forms of trafficking
in women
80. Official figures on the extent of trafficking in women for
the purpose of sexual exploitation in Italy do not currently
exist. The most comprehensive field study on this dramatic
problem was the report prepared in April 1996 for the European
Conference on Trafficking in Women, 5/ The report described a
sharp increase in trafficking in the period 1989-91, during which
arrivals from Eastern Europe increased noticeably. Between 1992
and 1994, there was a further rise, particularly in flows from
Nigeria and Albania.
81. Albanian victims of trafficking are usually very young girls,
unmarried and tricked by so-called lovers, who convince them to
move to Italy under promise of marriage or a job, and later force
them to become prostitutes by means of heavy physical and
psychological violence. The violence continues and regularly
accompanies their daily life, in a state of total isolation from
any contact except with clients. As to Nigerian victims, they are
usually slightly older, and kept in slavery mostly by means of
debt bondage, theft of passports and lack of immigration
documents, violence, and threats to them and their families. In
some cases they were aware of the kind of "job" that awaited them
in Italy, but believed it would last only for a short period of
time and had no idea of the kind of violence, isolation, and lack
of control over their lives, which they would be subject to.
82. In terms of figures, the report attempted an estimate on the
basis of extrapolated data from field interviews in seven Italian
regions. According to this estimate, foreign prostitutes in Italy
are be between 18,800 and 25,100; of these, between 1,453 and
2,216 are assumed to be victims of trafficking.
83. Italian efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in women
are coordinated by a specific inter-ministerial commission, set
up in early 1997 and including representatives from the
Ministries of Social Solidarity, Equal Opportunities, Justice,
Home Affairs. Actions are being taken at three different levels:
legislative changes, field work, international activities.
a.Revision of legislation.
84. The first problem to be dealt with, concerns the way in
which trafficking is covered by the present classification of
crimes. The legal definition of slavery and slave trade, which to
some extent covers the condition of many victims of trafficking,
was created in a very different historical situation, and is not
always applicable. The crime of exploitation of prostitution (see
part.2 of this article) applies to all cases, but does not cover
all aspects of this crime, and particularly the most brutal ones.
So the government is now examining the possibility of introducing
a specific definition of the crime of trafficking into our
Criminal Code.
85. As to specific draft legislation, the new immigration bill
presented by the government and now undergoing parliamentary
scrutiny, includes measures to enable investigation and
prosecution of trafficking. When a victim of trafficking is in
serious danger because of her attempts to escape the power of
organized crime, or because of her statements in criminal
proceedings, she can get a temporary residence permit, lasting
six months, and renewable for a year, or as long as required by
criminal proceedings. The purpose of such a permit is to enable
the victim to escape violence, and to participate in a social
integration program. Authorized associations can give her a safe
shelter; she has access to healthcare and social services, can
get training and education, and find a job. If she gets regular
employment, her permit will be renewed for the duration of her
contract.
b) Field work
86. Aid to victims of violence is also at the basis of field
experiences at local level, which are essential to an effective
action to combat and prevent trafficking. Most of these
experiences are based on cooperation among local authorities,
NGOs, women's associations, trade unions, and the church. Their
basic principle is that the greatest leverage to defeat
trafficking is the potential will of the women concerned to react
to their condition, and fight back for their freedom. They have
involved:
- providing victims of trafficking with safe shelters, counselling,
legal aid, employment opportunities, healthcare services;
- helping the creation of "self-help" groups among the women
concerned;
- training specialised social workers, community volunteers,
policemen;
- conducting information campaigns in public opinion
- organising special integrated services at local level
Towns such as Bologna, Rome, Udine, Milan, Ravenna, Turin,
Caserta, Florence, Rimini have been engaged in this kind of work.
c) International efforts.
87. In the last two years, we have witnessed a great number of
European initiatives 6/ aimed at developing cooperation among
Member States, and with the women's countries of origin. The most
recent such document is the Hague Ministerial Declaration on
European Guidelines for Effective Measures to Prevent and Combat
Trafficking in Women for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation (26
April 1997). The Italian government has been actively engaged in
the Hague, and will continue to act in close cooperation with
other European governments, and in all other international fora7/.
Article 6, part.2 Measures to suppress exploitation of
prostitution.
88. In Italy, prostitution is regulated by the "Merlin" law of
1958. This law de-penalised voluntary prostitution practiced
privately, and abolished licensed brothels, which at the time
were controlled by the state. Ownership, management and letting
of houses for prostitution has since become considered a criminal
offense, and so are tolerance towards prostitution in public
places, recruitment, incitement and exploitation of prostitution,
as well as incitement to move to a different state or location in
order to practice prostitution, and any participation in, or
support of, Italian or foreign organisations running such
activities. Some bills recently submitted to Parliament have
demanded changes in this law. Some require banning the practice
of prostitution in public places, while permitting it in private
dwellings or re-introducing state-regulated -houses of
prostitutionþ. Other proposals contemplate mandatory medical
checks for prostitutes, and others again the complete
liberalisation of prostitution, de-penalising mutual support
activities among people practicing prostitution and wishing to
escape exploitation by organised crime. The government has not
submitted its own draft legislation on prostitution, and has
chosen to give priority to action against trafficking, as a major
social and human rights issue.
Articles 7, 8. Women in politics
89. The participation of women in political institutions is the
area beset by the greatest contradictions. Indeed, the number of
women in national representative institutions has actually
dropped in the last four years. In 1994, ninety-five women were
elected to the Chamber of Deputies and 29 women to the Senate.
Women were 16.1% of elected MPs, which was above the overall
average for all previous Parliaments (8%). In 1996, 67 women were
elected to the Chamber of Deputies and 26 to the Senate, with a
drop to 9.9% of total elected representatives. This result was
particularly negative if compared with a European 27.6% average,
and with the 25% of women elected to the European Parliament.
Despite important individual achievements at this level and in
other international fora, the presence of Italian women in
international institutions and fora is still very low, and the
percentage of women in the diplomatic service is only 1.6%. By
contrast, the percentage of women members of the Cabinet has
increased. For the first time, there are three women Ministers
and eight women Under-Secretaries of State.
90. Women are widely represented in local institutions and in
grass-roots organisations and political parties. There are,
however, few women in positions of leadership, and even fewer in
the national-level ruling bodies, though some political parties
have internal regulations providing for quotas of women in the
ruling bodies. Nonetheless, women are heavily under-represented
in the fora where the most important political decisions are
made. The reasons for this state of affairs are both numerous and
complex, some of a general nature and some more specific to
Italy. Women were banned from the public arena for centuries, as
the divide between private and public spheres and the difference
in gender roles was a fundamental characteristic of patriarchal
society. The situation is changing. Women today are showing
evidence of a strong trend towards participation in many places
in the public arena, first and foremost the workplace. Yet,
women still appear to have a weak propensity for participation in
institutional politics.
91. As to specific national aspects, the Italian political scene
has undergone a profound crisis also following the Clean Hands
Operation. The consequences of this were very serious, because
politics itself lost credibility with public opinion though
citizens participation in the movement against corruption
fostered new political experiences. All these difficulties,
however, may have kept many women away from active politics. The
fall in the number of women active in political parties may have
influenced the low number of women elected to representative
institutions.
92. It is by no means a question of women having less of a
tendency to participate in politics as such. This is
demonstrated by the strong female presence in associations. A
number of local-scale studies have shown that the number of women
and the quality of their participation in grass-roots
associations are both very highly. In 1994, 282 women's
associations were counted in the metropolitan area of Rome alone
by the CENSIS Institute.
93. A.Young women, between 15 and 24 years of age, are the most
involved in associations and NGOs (with percentages ranging
between 8.7% and 11%), while the percentage of males of the same
age group participating in these associations is much lower (from
5.3% to 8%). This form of participation tends to decrease from
25 years onwards, probably owing to the fact that women take on
more responsibility in families and work. On the contrary, male
participation in the association movement tends to remain stable
during the course of life.
94. Factors related to family responsibilities have an even
greater weight on participation in politics as such.
Institutional politics continue to demand full-time commitment
and life-styles scarcely compatible with caring. This difficulty
is compounded by the fact that owing to cultural backwardness,
caring activities fall heavily and disproportionately on women,
as described under article 5. Italian women are the most hard-
working women in Europe, because their increased presence in the
workplace is not followed by an adequate redistribution of caring
work at home.
95. Finally, political activity requires a competitive approach,
which women generally do not appreciate, and which discourages
their participation in internal and external selection
mechanisms. Competition has probably been kindled by the fact
that women are attaining standards of excellence in all
professions and highly-skilled jobs. This probably engenders a
defensive attitude, which further undermines women's chances for
success.
96. The only mechanisms which seem to work effectively are forms
of subordinate co-opting, allowing women to participate in the
ruling bodies in very small numbers and with marginal roles.
These mechanisms are perfectly compatible with the adoption of
quota systems. Their adoption is sometimes combined with an
increase in the number of members of the body, so that the
specific weight of the women who enter these bodies decreases.
Women are often given responsibilities that are directly inherent
with women's issues, which means creating a small and separate
political class of women, with little or no impact on decision-
making processes.
97. An opposite and positive trend is registered on a local
level. The considerable number of women mayors elected in the
last elections is very important. The new electoral law, which
introduced the direct election of mayors, has made it possible to
take advantage of women's special aptitude for maintaining direct
relations with the population and working to improve the quality
of life at the local community level. This explanation is further
confirmed by the success of women's lists in local elections
where they were present. This seems to prove that women are more
attracted to politics based on concrete and practical approaches
and on the building of social bonds.
98. However, it should be said that these women mayors were
elected mainly in small municipalities. This could mean that
women follow their authentic vocation and reach good results when
the size of the community is small and they can represent their
constituents without meditation. Whenever it is necessary to
deal with a broader segment of public opinion, and use
traditional mechanisms of mediation such as mass media and
political parties, women run up against the same problems that
they always have with the workings of the political system, and
which limit their presence on a national scale. The government
has undertaken the commitment to analyze the impact of electoral
systems on representation from a gender viewpoint in its
Directive issued on March 7.
99. New strategies of empowerment for women in politics should
be adopted. Last year, many women's and feminist associations
promoted training courses in politics. This sort of autonomous
initiatives on the part of women deserves support. This approach
is clearly more useful than top-down initiatives devised
elsewhere. The most important objective is that women develop an
ability to negotiate independently within the decision-making
centers of politics, as was recently seen in the Labour Party of
the U.K., during the recent general elections. For this approach
to be successful, the simple issue of numbers should be
temporarily shelved. The focus should instead be on working with
women to enhance their skills, resources and ambitions. Otherwise
there is a danger that politics will be unable to represent
society as it is and will separate itself from society. It is not
a matter of justice for women, but of democracy itself.
Article 9. Equal rights related to nationality
100. As indicated in the previous Report, a new law (n.91)
on nationality rights was passed on 5 February 1992. This law
abolished all forms of discrimination between women and men
related to acquiring, changing or retaining nationality.
Nationality is acquired at birth on the basis of jus sanguinis,
and can be transmitted by both mother and/or father. If an
Italian citizen has acquired another nationality through
marriage, he or she does not automatically lose Italian
nationality, unless he/she voluntarily chooses to renounce it.
Italian nationality can also be acquired through marriage to an
Italian citizen, with no discrimination between men and women. In
these cases, the decision to take Italian nationality is entirely
voluntary. To all effects, the free will of the person concerned
is given priority over any form of automatic mechanism. This
principle of freedom is very important for women, as an essential
element to be included in any form of equality legislation.
101. The only controversy still open on total equality
between men and women related to nationality concerns the rights
of people who were born before the present Italian Constitution
came into force, when nationality matters were still regulated by
law 555 of 1912, according to which only fathers could transmit
nationality to their children. A recent ruling by the Italian
Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione, sentence n.6297 of 10 July
1996) dealt with such a case, and granted the right to Italian
nationality to a person who was born before the Italian
Constitution came into force, and whose mother was an Italian
citizen, while the father was not. The Court stated that the
relevant element to be considered was not the date of birth, but
the nationality of the mother, even if at the time of birth her
equal rights were not recognized by law. The Court declared the
unconstitutional nature of the 1912 law, in contrast with
articles 3 and 29 of the Italian Constitution.
102. In its implementation of new legislation on
nationality, however, the Ministry of Interior has not extended
the results of this ruling by the Supreme Court to all other
similar cases, stating that it is only an isolated ruling,
applicable only to the individual case concerned. At the moment,
it seems that only new legislation will ensure a complete
abolition of this last form of discrimination between women and
men related to nationality.
Article 10. Education
1. Girls' participation in education
103. In Italy access to education is equally ensured to boys
and girls, from primary and high school to universities and
vocational training. Both boys and girls can apply for
scholarships and grants. In recent years, girls have reached
better results in education than boys. In 1995-96, among young
people who had followed six years of university, 38.2% of girls
had graduated, as opposed to 33.1% of boys; 63% of girls had
achieved high school diplomas, as opposed to 55.8% of boys. In
the same period, the drop-out rate from high schools was 7.9% for
boys and 5.3% for girls. Girls attend grammar schools (licei)
more often than boys and increasingly so: from 25.8% in 1985 to
31.2% in 1995 and 31.6% in 1996. In the same period, the
percentage of boys who chose licei increased from 21.8% to 24.6%
and 24.9%. The reverse trend is found in vocational training
schools and technical schools, where the percentage of boys
increased, with a fall in the percentage of girls. An interesting
trend is also registered in the smaller percentage of girls
attending teacher training schools, proving their trend to move
beyond traditional gender segregation both in education and in
choice of profession. The number of people who have not completed
the cycle of lower secondary schooling (three years after primary
school) is on the whole decreasing, but is slightly higher among
boys than girls (5% against 4.3%).
104. Generally speaking, all education indicators are
positive for girls, and show that young women have made a serious
personal investment in culture and education. This is a very
important factor, both cause and effect of women's increased
assertiveness and self-confidence. Indicators on the fruition of
culture also show a positive difference for women. Women go to
the theatre more frequently than men, and read more books. Trends
among young women are even more positive. Between 1993 and 1996,
cultural fruition of theatre, music, museums and cinema increased
consistently among girls, even those from a more disadvantaged
social background. This shows that girls' decisions are less
influenced by family lifestyles and cultural levels.
2. Gender education
105. In the past, schools did not take into consideration
gender difference as a fundamental difference. Teachers, school
staff and parents began to understand the importance of taking
into account gender difference through the experience of working
with disabled children. The effort to integrate these boys and
girls in primary schools demanded a deep change in bureaucratic
school patterns, and a deep revision of all educational
practices. The new method of evaluation and grading introduced in
1974, and focused on individual differences, was another step
forward, but the major change was represented by the introduction
of education objectives aimed at the integration of foreign
children into Italian schools. For the first time, educational
agents had to come to terms with differences in lifestyles,
language, family models and learning patterns. Before these
developments, children were all considered the same and -
genderlessþ. After these experiences, educational practice has
begun perceiving the importance of gender difference as well. In
its general functioning, however, the school system did not take
up the challenge of gender difference. Understanding of this new
approach was slow to develop: the national school curricula for
lower secondary school written in 1979 and those for primary
schools written in 1985 did not include gender difference among
fundamental educational criteria. The new curricula for pre-
school education, issued in 1991, registered some novelty.
Language became gender-sensitive and gender difference was
mentioned as a fundamental aspect of personal identity, and not
identified as a cultural disadvantage.
106. In the most recent school curricula, -education on
sexualityþ is considered as a pillar in the construction of
personal, social, emotional and relational identity. As stated in
the three-year plan prepared by the Equal Opportunities Committee
of the Ministry of Education, nowadays relating to the other
person is considered crucial in developing gender identity and a
positive self-image, in expressing affection and emotions, even
in the relationship with the desire for knowledge. Sex education
should be introduced into schools as a comprehensive educational
experience, towards developing respect for oneself and for the
other person. In this framework, providing correct information on
a number of points, including prevention of sexually
transmissible diseases, is an important aspect which should not
be overlooked.
107. Over the last ten years, groups of women historians,
philosophers and teachers, sometimes as a result of effective
cooperation between universities and high schools, have developed
gender-sensitive educational projects, and played an important
role in the education of girls. Important work in research and
teaching guidelines on gender education has been carried out by
the Equal Opportunities Committee of the Ministry of Education,
which has just published its third Three-Year Plan, focused on
gender education and identity, and gender-sensitive vocational
training and citizenship.
108. Despite these positive developments, until now no
substantial improvements have been registered in the situation
described in the 1984-85 research on school books and other
teaching aids. As pointed out in the three-year Plan by the Equal
Opportunities Committee of the Ministry of Education, text-books
are still the main consultation and working tool, a sort of
alphabet of school educational communication, in an educational
system which finds it difficult to renew itself. Text books
communicate allegedly gender-neutral knowledge, which is in fact
characterised by the invisibility of women. Primary school books
convey traditional stereotypes and messages of inequality. In
high schools, gender difference in literature and history is
completely ignored.
3. Measures and policies
109. In 1995, a circular letter by the Ministry of Education
asked all schools to appoint an Equal Opportunities focus person.
It can be expected that the next reform of school curricula will
adopt gender-sensitive criteria. In the re-organisation process
of the whole schools system currently under discussion, a
Commission of academics under the authority of the Ministry of
Education has recently illustrated the elements of knowledge
considered essential for education towards the Year 2000. The
Commission pointed out that, although girls complete their
education more frequently and with better results than boys,
male-oriented culture still has a dominant position in the
educational system, and asked for a change in perspective.
110. The March 7th Directive has laid down a number of
objectives related to dissemination of gender-sensitive culture
in education, such as promoting knowledge of women's history and
teaching of women's basic rights, integrating into the drafting
and reading of school and university reform bills consultation
with women teachers, students and education experts, and
promoting the teaching of education on sexuality.
Article 11, part 1, a,b,c,d. Employment
1. Women's position in the labour market
111. In all EU countries women's employment is a crucial
factor in labour market restructuring. With the exception of
Great Britain, European women have higher unemployment rates than
men; the highest rates are found in Spain, followed by Italy. In
Italy, despite the positive trends described in the first chapter
of this report, with the regular growth of women's pressure on
the labour market, women are still the majority of job seekers,
and Italian employment rate, at 41.8%, is lower than the European
50% rate mostly due to women's lower employment: only 28.9%.
Young women in Southern Italy are in a condition of veritable
social exclusion: 70% of girls in the 14 to 19 age group, and 60%
of girls between 20 and 24 years of age are unemployed. Overall
unemployment rates among women are almost twice the corresponding
male figure: 16.6%, as opposed to 9.4%. Even the positive trends
previously described show lower growth rates than in other
European countries.
112. The reason for women's lower employment and slower
employment growth in Italy is to be found in the reduced
capability of the economic system to create jobs. In 1996, GDP
growth was 3.5%, but unemployment grew to 12.1%. This "jobless
growth" is the major hurdle to gender equality in employment: in
fact, equal opportunities seem to exist only when jobs are not
too scarce, while gender differentials increase in situations of
higher unemployment.
113. Differentials are even greater if one considers the
interaction between gender difference and age. In the 15 to 24
age group, unemployment is 29.4% for young men and 33.8% for
girls; in Southern Italy, these figures rise to 50% for men and
65% for women. In other words, the Italian labour market is still
dominated by the so-called -breadwinner modelþ: adult men, with
full time stable employment until retirement age. This model,
however, has been heavily challenged by the major restructuring
processes which affected most industries in the course of the
1980s. Flexibility and downsizing have involved early retirement
and lay offs for a part of the workforce, longer hours actually
worked by those who are still employed, and expanding areas of
deregulated and unprotected labour. It is now estimated that
about one quarter of employed workers are to be found in this
area of atypical and unregulated work.
114. In this changing scenario, women have proved to be the
most dynamic social actors. As described in the first chapter of
this report, both women's employment and unemployment rates have
steadily grown, proving that women's presence on the labour
market is now an irreversible fact. Even a traditional feature of
women's employment such as its relatively "temporary" nature is
now disappearing: in the last decade, and labour market -
activityþ rates among women with children have steadily grown.
Such growth has not depended on a more equitable distribution of
family responsibilities: as described under article 5, unpaid
caring and reproductive functions are still almost entirely
carried out by women, whose global paid and unpaid working hours
are an average 28% longer than men's. In other words, what women
have achieved has not been due to a dynamic economic system or to
effective public and social policies, but only to women's own
hard work, assertiveness and determination.
115. Labour analysts have become increasingly aware of this
process. They have stressed the highly performing dynamics of
women's presence on the labour market, and in some cases even
talked of the "feminisation" of labour market developments.
Specific skills and qualities that are deeply rooted in women's
social experience, such as communication and relational skills,
network organising, care-providing, are now being considered for
their intrinsic economic and social value, and as possible
resources for job creation. Women's different expectations,
attitudes and motivations are beginning to be studied as possible
assets for the whole labour force.
116. Among these, the most relevant one is possibly women's
investment in their own "human capital", through education. As
was described in the previous chapter, women's education is
higher than men's at all levels of schooling, even non
traditional ones, and women perform better. Their changed
position in the labour market is mostly related to these
educational processes, with an increased presence of women with
tertiary level education among job seekers. They represent a
highly valuable human and economic resource for the country,
which is at the moment under-used or over-exploited, particularly
in Southern Italy, where women high school and university
graduates represent a high percentage of long-term unemployment,
and where new jobs are increasingly concentrated in the area of
unregistered, marginalised and unprotected labour.
117. These forms of labour are highly common in Italy, as in
all Southern Europe. A recent study by Censis has estimated that
about 4 million workers are unregistered and not covered by
either the pension or tax system; part of them are officially
considered as non members of the workforce, such as housewives,
students, retired workers. Many unregistered workers are in fact
regularly employed elsewhere, and hence have two jobs. Most of
them are men, as the majority working women are still responsible
for unpaid care-providing activities within their families.
118. There are a number of reasons why unregistered
employment is so significant in Italy. Public regulations on
economic activities are still very rigid and not effective: this
is an area which is currently under reform. The weak position of
so many unemployed or low paid workers on the labour market makes
them willing to accept unregistered and unprotected employment,
in order to have some form of job. There is no simple solution to
this problem: too many rules lead to further development of a
parallel unregulated and illegal economy, while lack of rules and
so-called neo-liberal policies lead to over-exploitation and
marginalisation for vast numbers of workers. The Italian
Government is attempting to develop new policies targeted at a
correct equilibrium, where adequate levels of social protection
are combined with specific measures to foster local development
and social cohesion, through gradual incentives and measures
which can help small business to re-enter the legal and regulated
market.
2. Sectoral developments
119. Women's employment has fallen in industry at
practically the same rate as men (-0.4% against -0.5%), and in
agriculture (-2%), and has grown by 2.4% in the tertiary sector.
The most significant growth is concentrated in the service
sector, where women are now over 40% of the employed workforce.
Nearly one third of women who have recently entered this sector
are found in tourism, trade and catering; nearly half of the new
jobs in these areas are taken by women: they go from saleswomen
in big department stores and waiters in hotels and restaurants to
interpreters and market analysts in marketing companies.
Immigrant women are also mostly employed in this sector, mostly
as domestic workers. Between 1993 and 1995 registered immigrant
working women rose from 18,284 to 29,814; in 1996, of the 4,939
immigrants employed as domestic workers 62.3% were women.
120. In the insurance and banking sector, women are 70% of
new agents and employees. In the last decade, however, the
majority of women high school and university graduates have been
employed in the public administration sector, where working
conditions are less arduous (with a 36-hour week) and where the
hiring system based on public examinations has enabled women to
achieve positive results similar to their achievements in schools
and universities. Nearly 30% of women's employment growth is
found in this sector(mostly in education and healthcare), and
nearly 20% in private care-providing services. While in most of
the world women's employment growth is matched by a parallel
expansion in part-time jobs, in Italy the situation is quite
different: less than 10% of all jobs are part-time.
121. Women's presence has also increased in the self-
employed and micro-business sector, which is more common in Italy
than in the rest of the European Union. 16% of Italian women are
self-employed, as opposed to 10% of women in the rest of Europe.
Women in business and in the liberal professions have increased
their numbers more significantly than men. The presence of women
entrepreneurs has increased in all sectors of business, while the
percentage of women among self-employed professional workers has
increased in industry and services (particularly healthcare and
education) and become less relevant in agriculture. On the whole,
however, self-employed women and women in business have increased
less than wage and salary earners.
122. Generally speaking, women are increasingly taking
positions of greater and more direct responsibility in business
and in the liberal professions, and in the more skilled positions
among wage and salary earners, taking the new opportunities that
have arisen as a consequences of changes in labour demand. The
new demand for activities which have traditionally been performed
by women may have helped women's entry into the market,
protecting them from men's competition. Some professions, like
secondary school teachers, have become massively characterised by
women's presence. The other face of this coin, however, is
occupational segregation.
123. In Europe, the countries which are considered more
advanced in terms of women's presence in the labour market are
also those which show higher levels of occupational segregation,
while the lowest levels of segregation are found in Italy and
Greece. Sectoral segregation maybe the price which women have to
pay in order to enter the market, until they reach such a
critical mass as will enable them to stand up to men's
competition and assert their own specific skills and qualities.
As to hierarchical segregation, which blocks women's career and
prevents their access to decision-making and managerial
positions, we can still identify a real disadvantage, already
mentioned under articles 7 and 8. There are mainly two reasons
for this. First: present career paths do not reward skills but
total engrossment in work activities, to the detriment of
personal life, which is typically a male behaviour pattern.
Second, in the most bureaucratic organisations career paths are
basically determined by the higher hierarchical levels, through
co-opting mechanisms which are still largely in the hands of men,
and tend to exclude women.
3. Measures and policies
3.1. Working time
124. Moving beyond the "strong male-breadwinner model"
involves redistributing paid work through working time reduction
measures which can liberate time for both women and men to use
for caring activities and personal development. Shorter and more
flexible working hours should involve all workers. Part-time
schemes mainly or only targeted at women workers would not foster
this development, and would segregate women in the more marginal
areas of the labour market without redefining the distribution of
caring activities.
Measures related to working time which have been included in
the Pact for Employment, which the Government signed with the
social partners in September 1996, are:
þa reduction of the working week limit defined by law from 48 to
40 hours;
þincentives for further reductions of working time and to foster
the use of part-time work.
125. The March 7th Directive has clarified that flexible
working hours have to be "adapted to the different needs of
working women and men in the different phases of their lives, and
making it possible for them to choose part-time work arrangements
for a period, and later be re-instated into full-time employment
with no negative impact on their careers". The Directive also
demands new provisions on night work for women and men.
126. To eliminate discrimination in the workplaces, it is
necessary to promote far-reaching changes in work organisation.
They should not be focused on demanding more positions for women,
but on developing human resources and diversified skills,
introducing new forms of evaluation and grading.
127. Measures now under consideration by the Minister for
Equal Opportunities are:
- revision of the Positive Actions Act, based on close monitoring
and support for projects which have proved successful in changing
work organisation, such as those quoted in the first chapter of
this report;
- revision of legal instruments for civil action and/or other means
of redress against individual discrimination.
3.3. Tackling wage and skills inequalities
128. Equal pay for equal work or work of equal value was a
principle explicitly formulated by art.2 of the 1977 Parity Act.
The same article mandated single grading systems for women and
men. In the Italian collective bargaining system single grading
schemes for all workers were introduced in the 1970s in the
national labour contracts of all industries and sectors. These
grading systems, however, have not eliminated the existence of
de facto wage differentials between women and men, nor the
segregation in de-skilled and repetitive jobs which characterises
women's position in industry.
129. These wage and skill differentials are increasingly
rooted in organisational patterns that transform differences into
inequalities, in a system which formally ensures equal rewards
for "equal" work. Measures to eliminate wage inequality can
mainly result from women's empowerment initiatives,
organisational changes and gender-sensitive collective
bargaining, rather than through further legislative provisions.
3.4. Labour market and job creation
130. The next years will continue to be characterised by restructuring in many
sectors of the economy, and the breaking down of the system of rules which had
so far regulated bureaucratic organisations. Employment and individual career
paths will be characterised by greater flexibility and instability. Women and
men will compete more equally on the labour market, but in a situation of
greater uncertainty and low employment levels for both sexes. Borders
between caring and market-oriented activities will be redefined, and some
barriers will probably break down. Measures included in the Pact for
Employment are aimed at regulating this new flexibility and targeting it
towards job creation and employment growth. They are:
- new forms of local development and job creation planning through
local tripartite agreements between local authorities and social
partners;
- incentives to employment growth in research activities;
- introduction of new schemes for "temporary agency hiring"; of
special apprenticeship and "training on the job" contracts; of
"socially useful" community work for young unemployed people;
- reform of vocational training schools and courses.
131. The March 7th Directive has indicated a number of
actions to ensure a gender perspective in implementing these
policies. Among them: financial incentives for women's employment
growth in the areas where women's unemployment is particularly
high; targeted training and education activities and promotion of
women's skills, particularly in self-employment, "socially useful
work" and non profit activities; new highly skilled career paths
for women.
3.5. Women in business
132. Promoting women's entrepreneurship is explicitly
mentioned in the Pact for Employment as one of the criteria to
select funding and special credit lines for small business. As
mentioned in the first chapter of this Report the 1992 Act on
positive actions for women in business was finally implemented in
1996, with a first budget of 48 billion liras, to be used for
business creation and development, training of new women
entrepreneurs, business innovation and skills development.
133. To promote women's entrepreneurship, the Minister for
Equal Opportunities has: created an "observatory" to monitor the
state of affairs; set up an information service for women;
created a commission to coordinate the work of all relevant
institutional bodies; launched a multimedia campaign to inform
and encourage women to set up new businesses. Actions included in
the March 7th Directive include measures to ensure women's access
to the special credit lines for young people who wish to create
new businesses ("loans of honour") and to European Structural
Funds.
Article 11, part 1, e. Social security and conditions of older
women
1. The social role of elderly women
134. Italy, like all industrialised countries, has an aging
population. In 1995, there were 9 million people over 65 in the
country, as opposed to 8 million in 1991. In the last 50 years,
a 38% population growth rate has been matched by 150% growth in
the number of people over 65. Women, again as in all
industrialised countries, are the majority of elderly people: in
1993-94, they were 51% of people between 60 and 64, 56.1% between
65 and 74, 63% over the age of 75 8/. Because of their longer
life, women more frequently outlive their spouses than vice-
versa: in 1994-95, widows were 4.7% of women over the age of 60,
as opposed to 10.6% of men in the same age group. Among women
over 80, widows were 73.9%.
135. Consequently, living alone is a more common condition
among elderly women than among men. In 1994-95, 31.4% of women
over 60 lived alone, as opposed to 10.3% of men in the same age
group. 30% of men of that age lived with their partners of with
their children, as opposed to 13.1% of women. A high percentage
of these women are not self-reliant or are disabled (see article
12), and their economic conditions tend to be worse than men's.
In January 1996, the average pension perceived by women and men
was 871,000 liras for women and 1,470,000 liras for men in the
case of old age pensions, 695,000 for women and 941,000 for men
in the case of disability pensions, but rose to 721,000 for women
and fell to 443,000 for men in the case of survivors' pensions
9/.
136. Despite these very clear facts and figures, stating
that older women are poorer, widowed, disabled and lonely, does
not provide a full description of the condition of elderly women.
A study by the Research Institute on Social Services 10/ has
highlighted the important role which elderly women have as care-
providers for their own parents or other older relatives,
spouses, children, and in 40% of cases also for grandchildren and
other relatives. According to other studies quoted in the same
publication 11/, 78% of women over the age of 75 are care-
givers for relatives, neighbours and friends, while over one
third of older women receive no help from their relatives in
performing household chores or other caring activities.
137. This condition is not only a burden. The mentioned
studies have identified the existence of a "mother-focused"
elderly family structure, where women are the focus of
communications and emotional relations, as well as managers and
organisers of caring within the family. The social status of
elderly women, the quality of their emotional life and human
relations, seems to be higher than men's, though the price which
women pay for this is greater fatigue and even self-denial.
138. Elderly women's associations, women in pensioners'
unions and civic movements are now attempting to transform this
contradiction into a resource for both women's empowerment and
local development. Self-organised services and Local Exchange
Trading Systems (LETS, usually defined in Italy as "Time Banks")
are being experimented in cities like Rome, Perugia and Bologna,
to enable women to exchange caring, knowledge and other assets
and activities on the basis of time used, without any monetary
mediation. Elderly women are actively engaged in these
experiments, and increasingly active and assertive in pensioners'
unions and so-called "Universities for the Third Age". In other
words, it is not only young women's subjectivity which has
changed. Elderly women are maybe more often in need, but are
demanding to be listened to and empowered even in defining what
kind of services and provisions can adequately respond to their
needs.
2. Measures and policies: changes in the social security system
2.1. The 1995 pension reform
139. The Italian pension system was reformed in August 1995, following a major
financial
crisis in the National Pension Fund and long negotiations with the trade
unions. This pension
reform introduced the following changes:
- the old income-based system, was replaced by a contribution-
based system;
- seniority pensions were abolished, leaving only old age
pensions;
- the very wide range of different pension entitlements and
systems for different categories of workers was harmonised;
- higher retirement age was introduced for all workers.
140. Since many of these points, if introduced immediately,
could have a very negative impact on the economic conditions and
pension entitlements of most workers, the reform introduced a
"transitory system", with step-by-step implementation of each
change between 1995 and the year 2000. This gradual
implementation is at the moment under discussion between the
government and the social partners, due to severe budget
constraints which might endanger the accountability of the whole
system. The most sensitive points in this discussion concern the
scheduling of the transitory system, particularly as concerns
seniority pensions and retirement age.
2.2. Women's pensions
141. The reform maintained the difference between women and
men concerning retirement age, which in 1996 was 57 for women and
62 for men, and through gradual steps will reach 60 for women and
65 for men by the year 2000. Further lowering of retirement age
is granted to workers who have been employed in heavy jobs.
142. Other important points which directly concern women
are:
- the reform enables the government to enact legislation to
revitalize existing pension provisions for housewives,
establishing a Pension Fund for "persons who perform unpaid
caring work within the family"; the new legislation is currently
under discussion;
- maternity is taken into consideration in calculations to fix individual
retirement age; "nominal contributions" will be paid during absence from work
due to caring activities performed by either parent for children under the age
of six or cohabitant handicapped relatives.
2.3. sensitive issues
143. Issues which are particularly sensitive for women
concern "subsidised" minimum pensions, survivors' pensions and
Pension Funds. Subsidised pensions apply to those people whose
entitlements would lead them to perceive sums below the level of
minimum living allowances (in 1995, this level was set at
8,143,850 liras per year). In such cases, the sum is integrated
by an extra subsidy, until it reaches the given threshold. The
subsidy is not considered as a form of social security, but of
welfare aid: hence it is calculated on the basis of family income
and not of personal entitlements. Though the 1995 reform
introduced more favourable conditions to calculate these
subsidies, further reforms need to reconsider whether these
criteria of "family dependence" are compatible with women's
rights as individual citizens. The same applies to welfare
allowances (currently 6,240,000 liras per year) introduced by the
1995 reform, which can be paid to citizens over 65 who live in
need, independently of the amount of contributions they have
paid. These allowances will substitute subsidised pensions, and
are also dependent on family income. The nature of these problems
will change when these entitlements are replaced by the Basic
Income System now under discussion. In 1994 the number of women
who perceived the subsidised minimum pension was 4,689,349, as
opposed to 1,862,766 men 12/. As to survivors' pensions, for
many women this is the only form of income; measures concerning
this entitlement should be assessed considering their gender
impact.
144. Another issue which may have unwanted effects on women
concerns the decision to establish voluntary pensions funds
jointly set up by employers and labour unions for those workers
who choose to subscribe to them in addition to what they receive
from the public pension system. If these funds are calculated
only on the basis of insurance capitalization criteria, women's
longer life expectancy may actually penalize them and lead them
to receive lower pensions than male workers of the same age and
who have paid exactly the same amount of social security
contributions.
145. All these social security issues are currently under
discussion, in the context of tripartite concertation between the
government and the social partners on how to revise the 1995
reform and the welfare system in general. Whether or not the
final results of this revision will be gender-sensitive and
conducive to women's empowerment will not depend on social
security issues only, but on the comprehensive approach to
welfare reform discussed in the first chapter of this Report.
Article 11, part 2. Working mothers and fathers
a,b). Marriage and maternity entitlements.
146. Law no. 7 of January 1963 amended a previous law of
1950 and provided that dismissals of women workers who get
married were null. Subsequently, Law 1204/1971, which contains
the essential regulations in terms of protection of motherhood,
extended and detailed the prohibition against dismissal. Today,
women workers cannot be dismissed from the beginning of gestation
until the end of the first year of life of the child. Wrongly
dismissed workers have the right to reinstatement. Women workers
are currently well protected against dismissals by the rigorous
general regulations that apply in this field. Employers always
have to demonstrate the existence of a rightful cause for
dismissal, barring which they have the obligation of re-hiring
the wrongfully dismissed male or female worker. However, wrongful
and discriminatory practices aimed at avoiding these provisions
are still to be found, particularly in small businesses.
147. Law 1204 also regulates maternity leave. Art. 4
provides that women cannot work during the period extending from
two months before to three months following birth. The period of
mandatory abstention from work during pregnancy may be longer if
the pregnancy is at risk, in the case of hazardous working
environments, or in the case in which the woman cannot be
assigned to tasks that are compatible with her state of
pregnancy. Since 1987, all women farmers have had the same
maternity rights as other women workers: during the last two
months before childbirth, and in the first three after delivery,
they receive a daily allowance equal to 80% of the minimum salary
of an agricultural worker.
148. This legislation protects female employees of the
private sector or public administration to a large degree, as the
period of mandatory abstention from work is very long compared to
that of other European countries. However, the Italian
regulations entail an imbalance between the protection afforded
to employees and that available to self-employed women workers.
149. The regulations in force are now criticized because
they offer very few opportunities of obtaining special leaves
beyond the period of mandatory discontinuation of work. The draft
bill on parental leave, which has been recently approved by the
government in line with the relevant EU Directive, envisages the
right of either mother or father to claim leave from work for
reasons related to the educational, caring and health needs of
children up to the age of 8 years. It is an important point, but
the overall subject of the protection of maternity needs to be
reviewed. The March 7th Directive calls for the adoption of a
consolidated act on maternity, to harmonise and renew the whole
set of norms on this issue.
c) Child-care facilities
150. After the great wave of creation of services stimulated
by the women's movement and by new legislation during the 1970s,
not much progress has been achieved in the field of childcare
facilities. The fall in birthrates and the shift towards greater
individualism and privatisation which has characterised recent
years has led to less sensitivity of public institutions towards
the need to establish childcare facilities and services, with the
only exception of some local authorities which have reached very
high standards in both quantity and quality of services. One
indicator of these problems is the fact that there are no updated
data on the number and distribution of public childcare
facilities in the country. The most recent figures date back to
1992-93. In 1992, childcare facilities for children from 0 to
three years were 2,180 in the whole of Italy, with a ratio of 5.9
places available per 100 children. As for other services, there
are major inequalities between the different parts of the
country. In the North-West, childcare facilities were 763, with
a 9.5 to 100 ratio; in the North-East, 559 (9.9); 491 in the
Centre, with a 7.4 ratio; while in Southern Italy there were only
2.2 places for every 100 children, with a global figure of only
367 facilities. There are no figures on private childcare
facilities, or on their average cost, which is usually quite
high.
151. The situation is better for pre-school facilities
(three to five-year-olds), which have now been extensively
recognised as essential not only to working mothers and fathers,
but in view of adequate educational paths for children. In 1992-
93, there were 27,257 facilities which provided pre-school
education for a percentage of Italian children varying from 95-
97% in the North, to 86.3% in the South. Some local authorities
are experimenting new services to support children and their
families, providing counselling, play centres, home-based child
minders, and baby-sitting services.
152. After these years of lack of public policies and
facilities for children, the Italian government has finally
prepared the Three-Year National Plan for the Girl and Boy Child,
with 900 billion lira funding to provide childcare and other
facilities, and support for families with children.
d, and part 1, f) Protection of health during pregnancy
153. The government has recently approved a legislative
decree to transpose the European Community Directive n.92/85,
aimed at promoting improved healthy and safety at work for
working women during pregnancy, in the period immediately after
childbirth and when breastfeeding. This decree has extended the
range of jobs considered harmful, mandating employers to assess
health hazards, inform working women about them and take the
necessary provisions to avoid risk. Working women will have the
right to take leave from work to take pre-natal tests.
154. The question of nightwork has for the moment been laid
aside: it is a question which concerns not only pregnancy, but
all working women. On the basis of art.5 of the Parity Act
903/1977, companies in the manufacturing sector are forbidden to
assign women to night shifts; waivers to this ban can be
introduced through collective bargaining, but cannot apply to
working women during pregnancy, the post-natal period and when
breast feeding. In other sectors this kind of protection does not
exist.
155. These protective provisions will have to be revised
following a ruling by the European Court of Justice, which
declared the illegitimacy of the ban on nightwork for women
alone. As to working women during pregnancy, post-natal period
and when breastfeeding, the EU Directive contemplates a less
rigid ban on nightwork, not applicable to all pregnancies, but
only to those which are particularly at risk. This question will
be have to be dealt with in a comprehensive way, when the
European Directive on working time is transposed into Italian
legislation.
Article 12, part 1. State of health and access to healthcare
1. Life expectancy and mortality rates
156. In 1996, average life expectancy was 81.3 years for
women, and 74.9 for men. This difference has consistently
remained over the course of the last four years, during which
both sexes have seen an increase in their life expectancy, which
in 1993 was 80.5 for women and 74.1 for men.
157. Whether this advantage of women will remain unchanged,
or will be affected by women's changed lifestyles, and adoption
of some habits previously typical of men, is yet to be seen.
Deaths due to lung cancer, for example, see a major difference
between the sexes among the age groups characterized by less
incidence of smoking among women; this gap may narrow when the
generations of women smokers reach the age of lung cancer
incidence.
158. Other relevant gender differences are found in
mortality rates among young people. Between fifteen and thirty-
four years of age, the most widespread causes of death are road
accidents and AIDS. In both cases, mortality is higher among
young men than women, but the gap is getting smaller over the
course of time. In the age group between 25 and 34, AIDS
incidence among women has risen from 2.1 per 100,000 in 1987 to
12.0 in 1991. The ratio of AIDS cases between men and women has
fallen from 5,2 to 3,6. 78.2% of women AIDS patients have caught
it because of drug abuse, and 18.8% through heterosexual
intercourse. While women are less than 1/5 of AIDS cases in the
25-34 age group, they are over half the patients who caught AIDS
through heterosexual contagion. In the near future, AIDS
epidemiological patterns between women and men may become the
same 13/.
2. Women's state of health
159. Though Italian women live longer, their state of health
seems to be worse than that of men. In 1994, 69.2% of men
declared they were in good health, as opposed to only 60.2% of
women. The difference remained even between women and men of the
same age group, so it cannot be explained in terms of women's
longer life and of ailments related to old age.
160. As on other issues, the question that remains open is
how much of this difference is a matter of objective conditions,
and how much is linked to different subjective self-perception.
As to objective factors, one important indicator of gender
difference in health conditions is the greater impact which
social disadvantage seems to have on women rather than men. ISTAT
studies on differential mortality have shown that while 24.8% of
deaths among men can be attributed to social disadvantage, this
percentage increases to 27% among women 14/. Among women, the
cause of death which seems most affected by social disadvantage
is diabetes.
Another indicator of women's worse state of health is related to
disabilities. There are 2,677,000 disabled people in Italy, and
1,649,000 of them are women. 5.9% of women have disabilities, as
opposed to 3.9% of men. Part of this difference could be
explained in terms of women's longer life, since disabilities
have greater incidence among older people: 1,340,000 disabled
women are over the age of 60. Once again, however, the difference
between women and men remains even within the same age group:
41.9% of women over the age of 75, as opposed to only 31% of men
over 75.
161. As to gender-specific tumors, breast cancer ranks
first, with about 11,000 deaths and 25,000 new diagnoses of
breast cancer per year, followed by cervical cancer, with a
yearly toll of 1,500 deaths and 3,500 new cases 15/. Early
detection screening measures against these tumors, such as
mammography and pap tests, are still insufficiently used in
Italy. One form of tumor which used to be gender-specific to men,
namely lung cancer, is now the sixth most frequent cancer in the
world among women 16/. Recently, lung cancer mortality has
become stabilised among men, and has sharply increased among
women 17/.
3. Access to healthcare services
162. In access to healthcare services, it is difficult to
identify differences between women and men, and certainly there
is no form of formal or open discrimination against women. There
is, however, quite heavy discrimination among women, particularly
related to social and economic conditions, geographical areas,
and nationality. As healthcare in Italy falls under the authority
of Regional governments, social differences between Centre-North
and South of the country, which affect all aspects of Italian
life, are particularly noticeable in this field.
163. Differences concern many aspects of healthcare: the
number of services, their quality, the ability of family doctors
and general practitioners to guide their patients towards
appropriate services, the availability of information on health
issues, the concentration of healthcare investment in the field
of highly specialized technical equipment, which can be afforded
only by facilities in the richer regions. These differences are
particularly noticeable in access to family planning and services
related to reproductive health.
164. One specific problem in access to healthcare services
concerns immigrant workers. Immigrants tend to refer to health
services less often than Italian citizens, and only in cases of
great need. So far, male immigrants have required healthcare
mostly following accidents and traumas, and women mostly for
services related to reproductive health.
165. At the moment, the government is drafting the second
National Healthcare Plan. This Plan will include points listed in
the March 7th Directive, such as the use of gender-disaggregated
data and gender-impact analysis and development of targeted
projects for women and children.
Article 12, part 2. Appropriate services in connection with
reproductive health
166. Under this article, we shall discuss only aspects
directly mentioned in the CEDAW Convention, namely services
connected to pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care. As to
abortion, we shall refer about this point under article 16, Under
the same point, we shall also discuss other aspects related to
sexuality and those social and healthcare services which can help
ensure a healthy sexual life.
167. One major problem related to pregnancy and childbirth
is the tendency by the medical profession to treat motherhood as
a disease, rather than a complex but natural physical and
emotional human experience. This attitude has de-humanized
childbirth and disempowered women, marginalised information and
practices which women had developed over the course of history,
and often created more health problems than it has solved.
a) pregnancy
168. Medical care begins in the early stages of pregnancy.
Scanning and very frequent blood and urine tests are prescribed
extensively and often unnecessarily. For those women who live in
Southern Italy, where public services are few, or for women who
for a number of reasons choose to use private services, the
overall cost of a normal pregnancy can rise to between 2,000,000
and 4,000,000 liras. If a specialized test like amniocentesis is
required, in most cases it cannot be provided by public services,
and will involve an extra cost of at least 1,200,000 liras.
Furthermore, lack of facilities and adequate funding has led to
a scarce provision of other aspects of care during pregnancy,
such as pre-natal courses, which are less costly but would enable
prevention of many health problems, while at the same time
empowering women to activate all their subjective energies
without over reliance on medical treatment. Lacking these
services and a woman-friendly atmosphere in healthcare
facilities, women themselves tend to increasingly rely on high
technology as the only way to get both reassurance and health
protection.
b) childbirth
169. In the vast majority of cases (86.2%), babies are born
in public hospitals, followed by private clinics (13%). Home
deliveries are very rare occurrences: only 0.5% of all births.
This is partly a cultural factor, and partly related to the fact
that no healthcare or reimbursement is provided by the National
Health Service for home deliveries. The only exception to this
rule is found in the Region of Piedmont, which reimburses up to
60-80% of costs incurred for home-births, provided a doctor has
certified that it is a normal pregnancy, with no risk. So far, no
regional government has provided direct public assistance for
home-deliveries, but in some regions sensitive midwives and
women's movements have begun to organize these services in
collective form, and are demanding support from public
structures.
170. Except in these more advanced experiences, in most
public and private clinics women in labour are still heavily
disempowered and over treated, from the first moment of
acceptance into hospital. At first, they are subject to
standardized and at times humiliating routine practices (enemas,
episiotomy, etc.), not always justified by real health needs.
Both labour and delivery occur in often overcrowded wards, not
always open to the woman's partner or other person of her choice,
nor to any other option on the part of the woman concerned, such
as delivery in a different position from the standard supine
position.
171. One reason of special concern in this over-medicalised
scenario, is the steady increase in the percentage of caesarean
births (from 23.2% in 1992 to 24.9% in 1994), with Italy having
Europe's highest caesarean section rate 18/. This increase is
not justified by WHO parameters, and does not match the
percentage of risk pregnancies, which in 1994 amounted to 15.5%
of all pregnancies. Furthermore, different medical facilities
seem to use very different standards in deciding when to operate
a caesarean section. Another correlation which should be cause
for serious concern is that between still births and social-
economic conditions of the population. Taking indicators such as
regional GDP and education levels, it would appear that mortality
rates at birth decrease in richer regions, and in proportion with
the degree of education of the parents. In Italy, infant
mortality is higher among women with primary education only,
compared to women with university degrees 19/.
c) Post-natal care
172. After birth, in most healthcare facilities babies are
still separated from their mothers, and kept in separate
childcare wards. They are brought to the mother at fixed times,
and often no help is provided to teach her to breastfeed; feeding
on demand is not facilitated and often discouraged by hospital
staff. According to the 1994 ISTAT multi-purpose study, 70.3% of
babies were breastfed, with breastfeeding less common among women
over 36 years of age and more common among women with higher
education and a job. As on other issues, it would seem that
education, self awareness, information about babies' health and
wellbeing, have a greater impact on these decisions than
availability of time or economic factors such as the cost of milk
formulas.
173. As to assistance during the post-natal period, this is
the only field where the trend to overmedicalization seems to be
contradicted. Under the new hospital payment system, introduced
by the previous government and still in force, the National
Health Service reimburses hospitals on the basis of treatment
provided, and not of the number of days a patient has been
hospitalized: consequently, hospitals have drastically reduced
women's stay in wards after birth. This choice, however, has been
due only to savings policies by the health authorities, and has
not been matched by adequate care for women's state of health and
their real needs in the first days of motherhood. Following this
concern, some Italian provinces and municipalities have begun
providing post-natal home assistance and counselling. At the
moment this is only an experimental practice, and no
comprehensive data are available on its concrete results.
d) Measures and policies
174. In recent years, "humanising childbirth" has become the
objective of quite a widespread civic movement, including both
women and sensitive healthcare providers. This objective is
explicitly mentioned at points 8.3 and 8.4 of the March 7th
Directive. The demand to re-organise all childbirth practices and
facilities and provide adequate support for home deliveries and
post-natal care is also found in two national parliamentary bills
and three regional ones, while six regional laws have re-
organised childbirth facilities and practices, but without
introducing special support measures for home deliveries. A
comprehensive set of proposals by the Office of the Minister for
Equal Opportunities on humanised childbirth and women's
reproductive health will be finalised next autumn, in the course
of an international conference the Ministry has called on these
issues.
Article 13. Family benefits, credit, sports
a) The right to family benefits
175. The organisation of family benefits is based on the -
breadwinner modelþ. The traditional -head of the familyþ is the
person physically entitled to receive the benefits. Caring
activities are not recognised at all and do not give any rights
to family benefits. Women can receive benefits only when they are
widows, divorced, single mothers, or when the husband is
disabled. Furthermore, the amount is calculated on the basis of
the whole family income, and the mechanism of calculation
discourages women's economic independence. Despite stronger
women's presence on the labour market, the "male breadwinner"
regime approach seems to be strengthened over last ten years. Tax
rebates for families with only one income were introduced.
176. Family benefits, however, are not sufficient to cover
the costs of the maintenance and education of children. In the
past traditional Italian government policies towards the family,
used to stress ideological aspects, while giving little practical
support for the reality of family life. 20/
177. The family benefits system needs to be completely
revised in the context of overall welfare reform. This question
is currently under discussion. One of the suggestions would be to
unify financial management of family benefits, parental leave and
funds for child care facilities, as for example in France. It is
argued that this would help moving away from the -male
breadwinnerþ regime, focusing on family responsibilities.
b) The right to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of
financial credit
178. In general the access to bank loans is ensured on an
equal basis for both sexes. As mentioned in the first chapter of
this report, the 215/92 law introduced special funds for women in
business, promoting business development and innovation and
training for new business-women. But the new law was not enforced
until very recently. In the last months of 1996 the Office of the
Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Ministry of Industry
promoted initiatives towards the operation of this law.
c) The right to participate in recreational activities, sports
and all aspects of cultural life
179. There are no legal discriminations between men and
women concerning the right to practice sports. Between 1988 and
1995 the regular practice of sports in the Italian population has
fallen from 22.9% to 18%. This fall has concerned both women and
men, but is more marked among men, and this has reduced the
gender gap, which is quite high in this field: the number of
women who practice sports is almost half the number of men.
Sports practiced show a marked gender difference: football ranks
highest among men, gymnastics and dance are the sports most
practiced by women. As in other fields, there is a major
difference between Northern and Southern Italy, with less sports
practiced in the South, and a larger gap between boys and girls.
180. The situation is reversed as concerns cultural and
recreational activities, where women are much more active then
men, particularly when young and not yet burdened with family
responsibilities. In the 18-19-year-old age group, activities
practiced more frequently by women are singing (27.5% of women
against 21.2% of men), dancing (77.7 against 70.3%), acting (7.2
and 6.4%), fine arts (23.7 against 15.3%), sewing and knitting
(33 against 2%). While these figures may indicate a persistence
of gender stereotypes, it should be stressed that such diverse
forms of entertainment, together with other cultural activities
mentioned under article 10, may have contributed to women's
better performance in education and more dynamic attitudes in
personal life.
Article 14. Women in rural areas
181. The most recent comprehensive information about the
condition of women in rural areas can be found in the data of the
1990 Census, partially described in the last CEDAW Report. These
data indicated an increase in the population of rural
municipalities, in line with similar developments in the most
developed western countries, witnessing a reversal in previous
trends towards intensive urbanization.
182. Some observers consider these population movements
towards smaller rural communities as part of a growing desire for
more humane lifestyles. It is noticeable, however, that while men
still tend to migrate from rural to urban areas, women migrate
less often, and tend to substitute men in agricultural work. As
on other issues, greater efforts are needed to understand this
process, and the interaction between objective social and
economic factors and women's subjective will and self-perception
as farmers, food producers, and active citizens of rural
communities.
183. Looking at ISTAT data, in 1993 women were 37.4% of the
workforce employed in agriculture, and fell to 34.6% in 1996. By
contrast, women agricultural entrepreneurs rose from 18.8% in
1993 to 24.2% in 1996. Between 1980 and 1990, the total number of
farms fell by 7.5%, but farms owned and managed by women
increased by 9.9%. Most of these women inherited the land from
their fathers or husbands, but for a growing number of them
farming was a personal professional choice.
184. Equality between women and men in owning land,
managing, and farming, as well as in social security
entitlements, was established by the 1975 New Family Law, which
changed article 230bis of the Civil Code, and stated that
"women's work is considered equivalent to men's". The new law de
facto abolished women's unpaid work in agriculture, by
introducing "family farms" where profit sharing, ownership and
management decisions are to be shared equally by all members of
the family who participate in farming. The same rights equally
apply to regularly married and de facto families. Articles 48 and
49 of the 1982 Law on Contracts in Agriculture further clarified
that the legal entity signing contracts related to land is the
farmer family, which can be legally represented by any member of
the family, with no discrimination against women.
185. If we look at actual conditions, however, we notice
that the trend towards full equality between husband and wife is
not yet fully achieved. While the percentage of women farmers
employing their husbands as farm help increased significantly
since 1980, in 1990 it was still only 37.8% of women who employed
their husbands, as opposed to 49.8% of men farmers employing
their wives.
186. As to hired farm labour, in the past, in some areas of
Southern Italy agricultural workers were very often hired through
the system of "caporalato": a form of subcontracting forbidden by
legislation but very common. A "caporale", usually man, would
contact a group of women agricultural workers, select which to
hire, and provide transport for them to the place of work,
keeping a percentage of their wages for himself. It was a very
serious form of exploitation of women's labour and a form of
illegal management of the agricultural labour market, often run
by criminal organisations. This phenomenon still exists today,
though with different features, also because of the presence of
many immigrant workers in agriculture. As of today, attempts to
eradicate it have not yet been successful.
Article 15. Equality before the law: draft legislation on women's
access to civic service and military careers
187. As explained under the previous articles, Italian women
have legal capacity identical to that of men, and full equality
before the law. The only remaining difference in women's legal
position concerns military careers. The government has recently
prepared very innovative draft legislation both on civic service
and military careers. The new bill is now under scrutiny by the
Senate..
188. Italian legislation already contemplates conscientious
objection to military service, which is based on conscription of
all able-bodied young men. Young men who for reasons of
conscience do not wish to take arms have the right to be engaged
in civic service, alternative to military service, consisting in
community service with private and civic bodies which have
applied for the possibility to use conscientious objectors in
their activities. Conscientious objection has been a very
significant experience in Italy, through which many young men
have become acquainted with highly topical issues, and have been
engaged in innovative sectors such as environmental protection
and care-providing services. Through these activities, they have
learned to give value to caring and personal relations skills
which are typical of women's culture and had traditionally been
considered a women's prerogative.
189. The new government bill has introduced a new form of
civic service, which can be chosen by young men who prefer this
alternative form to fulfill their duty of defending the country,
independently of whether or not they are conscientious objectors.
This approach is in line with the perspective of a new Defence
Model, which involves reduced conscription and a larger
professional component within the Armed Forces, related to their
new tasks which are increasingly focused on peace keeping and
peace making. This bill has been criticised on some points,
particularly as it does not contemplate fully equal status
between military and civic service, especially as concerns length
of service.
190. As concerns women, there has been some debate on the
possibility of introducing mandatory participation of all girls
in civic service, in line with the principle of full equality
between women and men. The government, however, in agreement with
the Minister for Equal Opportunities, decided that introducing
new forms of mandatory service would be contradictory at a time
when greater space is being given to individual motivations of
young men towards both military and civic service, and when the
draft component of the Armed Forces is being reduced. The bill
hence introduces girls' participation in civic service on a
voluntary basis. The Office of the Minister for Equal
Opportunities, together with the National Commission for Equality
and Equal Opportunities, is committed to foster a vast
participation of young women in the first experiences of civic
service, as an opportunity to express assert their cultural
potential, individual determination and social skills.
191. The second new point introduced in the government bill
and completing the framework of formal legal equality between
women and men concerns women's access to military careers. This
issue has been extensively discussed in the country, from
different perspectives. Supporters of women's exclusion from the
Armed Forces have resorted to traditional arguments based on
women's physical inferiority, on the need for solidarity within
the Armed Forces allegedly ensured only by their one-gender
nature, on operational difficulties related to the fact that in
any case women could not be engaged in combat. By contrast, peace
associations and part of the feminist movement have stressed the
risk of subordinate coopting of women into military structures
strongly characterised by male-dominated ideology, and made for
war.
192. Evidence against the former arguments is represented by
experiences in many European countries and in the US, where women
have long been part of the Armed Forces, including operational
corps, though not always in combat units. As to the latter areas
of criticism, such risks do exist, but cannot be solved through
perpetuating the ban on women's access to military careers. A
study on the letters sent by hundreds of girls who have asked to
join the Army (some of whom are members of a specific
association, called ANADOS, have shown that their motivations are
real and complex. These girls consider military careers not only
as a possible employment opportunity, but also as a possibility
for self-fulfillment in a new sector, considered skilled and
socially useful. Risks could be minimized ensuring access in
relevant numbers and to higher positions as well.
Article 16. Family, procreation and parental responsibilities
1. The Principle of Equality in Marriage and Parental
Responsibility
193. In Italy, men and women have the right to freely
contract marriage and choose their spouses. The family law
reform, which was enacted in 1975, granted to women full equality
of rights in marriage. In particular, the 1975 law established
that husband and wife are entitled to the same rights and duties
through marriage, including the duty of providing moral and
material assistance and collaborating in the best interest of the
family (Art. 143, Civil Code). The spouses' relationship is
governed by the irrevocable principle of consensus. Husband and
wife decide together on their family lifestyle and establish
their family residence by mutual consent (Art. 144 C.C.). In
parenthood, mother and father are equally responsible towards
their children, and have the obligation to support, raise and
educate their children, taking into account their natural
inclinations, abilities and aspirations (Art. 147 C.C.). A
father or a mother who recognizes a child born out of wedlock
contracts the same obligations towards this child as towards a
legitimate child (Art. 261). Hence, children born out of wedlock
have exactly the same rights as legitimate children.
194. The principles embodied in the 1975 reform stemmed from
the profound changes in gender relations and, more in general, in
societal custom and awareness which had evolved in those years.
A law on divorce had been passed five years earlier (1970) and
was subsequently confirmed by popular referendum in 1974. Family
law reform, in its turn, helped bring about further change. The
principle of equal rights of spouses, which was considered highly
innovative when it was first set forth in law, has little by
little been realized in practice, though not without some
contradiction, especially due to the unequal allocation of caring
duties in the family.
195. In the meantime, women have achieved equal rights in
decision-making on such an important issue as the management of
family finances, a sphere from which they had traditionally been
excluded. The legal provision for the community of property
between man and wife which was introduced in the 1975 reform -
according to which even women without any personal are entitled
to co-ownership and an equal share in all assets acquired during
marriage, unless otherwise stipulated by the spouses - was
decisive in bringing this new reality to pass. This marriage law
provision was a true breakthrough as for the very first time it
granted explicit recognition to the caring work of women. It was
also an effective tool in the material realization of the
principle of equal rights.
2. Families
196. The reform of family law which was generated by a
profoundly changing society, brought about other changes in turn.
Law makers in 1975 had prefigured a family based on affective
bonds which today is a reality. This family model is based on
the quality of the emotional bonds uniting its family members,
rather than on the coercive character of a formal marriage tie.
Husband and wife alike, respecting their children's inclinations
and aspirations, have the duty to search continually for the
right balance between a family's need for stability and the
freedom of family members. Family patterns have also grown
increasingly diversified, as has been observed in all other
western countries. In 1995-96, singles were over 4.000.000, for
the most part elderly women. Singles between 18 and 39, however,
were 17.7% of single-person households. The percentage of
cohabitants is growing, but it is still small compared to married
couples (about 2%). The highest numbers are among younger
couples, people with higher education, and among couples where
the woman has a job.
197. Whatever family pattern they choose, however, men and
women continue to make a major value investment in these new
families based on affective bonds. There would appear to be a
contradiction between this statement and what is Italy's most
striking population trend in the last few decades, namely its
sharply declining birthrate. But this contradiction is only
apparent. It is certainly true that the number of births in
Italy dropped from 930,000 in 1961 to 500,000 in 1991, (though
there has been a certain stabilization of this downward trend in
the last four years, with 540,000 births registered in 1994).
Italy is undoubtedly one of the countries in the world with the
lowest birth rate. Yet closer scrutiny of this trend reveals
some interesting facts. First, the downward trend began with a
drop in the number of large families, and in the last few years
there has been a marked decrease in the number of second children
and a dramatic fall in the number of families with three or more
children. Interestingly, however, there are very few childless
couples, and the number of these couples is actually decreasing.
This means that the fall in the birthrate is not due to higher
infertility levels nor to a lesser desire to have children.
198. As in case of all large-scale social phenomena, the
causes are manifold. Women certainly have a hard time combining
their caring work at home with paid work in the labor market,
especially when they lack adequate social services. While this
is certainly a primary factor, more careful attention to the
children's development needs also seems to have great importance.
In other words, the current understanding of parental
responsibility leads families to limit the number of children.
199. Unlike other European countries, most children are born
to married couples. The percentage of children born out of
wedlock currently stands at only 7.8%. Though the trend is
increasing (6.7% in 1992, 7.4% in 1993), the percentage is still
much lower than that registered in other European countries.
3. Separation, Divorce, Child Custody
200. The vitality of the family institution is only
apparently belied by the growing number of separations (45,754 in
1992, 51,445 in 1994, and 52,323 in 1995). The rate of
separations in 1995 was 158.4 per 1,000 marriages. Official
estimates based on marriages contracted in the last ten years
reveal that separations tend to occur in the first years of
marriage. The number of consensual separations is higher in more
recent marriages. Divorces are also more numerous, passing from
25,997 in 1992 to 27,038 in 1995. Half of the separated couples
do not file for a divorce.
201. Though the relative weakness of the conjugal bond is
typical of all industrial societies, the statistics for Italy
should be read in the light of the special vitality of the family
institution in this country. As in the case of declining
birthrates, the statistics on separations could also be
interpreted as a sign of a greater emotional investment in
marriage, following on the demise of patriarchal family patterns
based on the power of the male breadwinner. The enhanced
economic independence of women, along with their greater self-
awareness and freedom, have radically transformed the terms on
which gender relations were founded in traditional family models.
With men no longer being the sole income-earners, while women
were relegated to the role of housewife and mother, family models
have been transformed into a difficult search for liberating and
emotionally-rewarding relationships. The fact that separations
tend to occur in the early years of marriage suggests that the
breakage is not so much linked to the difficulties of living
together but more to dissatisfaction generated by very high
expectations.
202. Italian law provides that in the case of separation and
divorce the spouse lacking adequate income has the right to
receive alimony from the other spouse. In all cases, following
separation and divorce, both parents have the obligation to
support and educate their children. At the time of separation,
the judge decides which of the two spouses is more suitable for
custody of the children. In the vast majority of cases, children
are assigned to their mother (92.1% in 1994). Consequently,
there are 1,208,000 single-parent families where the single
parent is a mother, and only 229,000 families where the single
parent is a father. Even in the case in which custody is
assigned to only one of the parents, both parents continue to
have parental authority (patria potestas) and must take the
relevant decisions for their children together. However, only
the parent having custody exercises parental authority and takes
the decisions concerning the children's daily lives (Art. 155
C.C.).
203. It should be noted that these single-parent families
have generally proven to be able to provide a suitable
educational environment for the children, though they are often
heavily at risk from a financial viewpoint. Apparently, 40 per
cent of former husbands who have the obligation of paying alimony
and child support - as they do not have custody and are generally
the sole income-earners of the family, or in any case have a
higher income than their wife - fail to meet their financial
obligations. In the period of time between filing for a
separation and the judge's ruling, many of these husbands tend to
conceal income and assets, for instance by transferring property
titles to figureheads, so as to simulate poverty and justify
their failure to pay alimony and child support in advance.
204. Though the failure to pay alimony qualifies as a
criminal offence, court rulings in this field are slow to come
and are often ineffective. New regulations need to be devised,
to make it more difficult for estranged spouses to fraudulently
hide property. Procedures for the coercive recovery of payments
due for child support should also be made easier, so that
separated women may have the security and serenity they need,
especially when they are raising children. The issue of alimony
to childless women will become increasingly unimportant, as more
and more women in the younger generation hold jobs.
205. The rules on child custody and child support are
criticized by several associations of fathers, who protest
against their marginalization and claim their right to a more
relevant role in the parenting relationship. A number of bills
on this issue currently lie before the Italian Parliament. The
attention of fathers to their parental care and responsibilities
is a new development in Italian society and certainly a very
welcome one. The forthcoming reform will most probably give more
room to joint custody, which may be assigned by the judge when
the divorced parents are not sharply in conflict. Generalized
joint custody would not, however, be without risks, because in
those situations where the estranged spouses experience bitter
conflict, instead of reinstating the value of the father's role,
joint custody would end up simply giving the father the power of
decision and veto, while the children would continue to live
chiefly with their mothers.
4. Procreation-linked Decisions
206. In an important sentence issued in 1975, the
Constitutional Court paved the way to legislative reform on
abortion, by upholding the principle of ensuring a balance
between the interests of the mother and those of the unborn
child. A set of rules written into the Criminal Code then in
force - which had been drafted during the Fascist period -
punished abortion as a crime against the integrity of the race,
even in the case of a consenting woman.
207. Law 194, which was approved in 1978, explicitly
abrogated the legislation previously in place. The new law
declared the principle that human life should be protected from
its conception and set out rules for the social protection of
motherhood. Abortion is now consented in the first 90 days of
pregnancy, whenever its continuation would seriously endanger the
woman's physical or psychological health, also in relation to her
economic, social or family conditions, or to the circumstances in
which conception occurred. Healthcare and social support centres
for women and families ("Consultori") have the duty to help the
woman eliminate the causes that led her to the decision to
terminate her pregnancy. Counselling may also be extended to the
father of the conceptus, if the woman agrees. In all cases, a
seven-day period of reflection is mandatory. If the woman
confirms her decision after this period, then she may apply for
an abortion on the basis of the documents issued by the
"Consultorio", which certify compliance with the procedure set
forth by law. After the first 90 days, abortion is allowed only
in the case of a serious threat to the woman's life, or fetal
anomalies or malformations which would severely endanger the
physical or psychological health of the woman.
208. Law 194 enabled women's self-determination, assigning
them the final decision on whether or not to become mothers.
This approach has produced excellent results in combating illegal
abortion, which was a serious threat to the life and health of
women in the past. Since the enactment of the law, the number of
voluntary abortions has dropped conspicuously (i.e. from 209,000
in 1980 to 134,137 in 1995). In the same years, the abortion
rate per 1,000 women in fertile age fell from 15.3 per 1,000 in
1980 to 9.3 per 1,000 in 1996. Statistical records show an
increase in the number of abortions until 1983, but this was due
to the emergence of what had previously been an illegal
procedure. The trend has declined steadily from 1984 till today.
There has been an effective reduction in the abortion rate, which
is particularly evident in the 25-29 year age bracket. In 1979,
immediately following the enactment of Law 194, illegal abortions
were estimated at 350,000 per year. A study conducted by the
Superior Health Institute suggested that legal abortions amounted
to 234,000 in 1983, with illegal abortions totalling roughly
100,000. In 1994, legal abortions dropped to slightly under
143,000, whereas illegal abortions were estimated at 45,000, 70
per cent of which in the South of the country. This means that
legal abortions fell by 39% and illegal abortions by 35%. This
overall decline may be due to an improvement in women's ability
to control reproductive choices, thanks to better information on
reproduction and more widespread contraception. Increasing
levels of schooling have been correlated with lower abortion
rates.
209. Law 194 provides the option for medical and non-medical
staff to refuse to participate in abortion procedures on grounds
of conscientious objection. While accurate statistics are
lacking, official estimates indicate that roughly 60% of
gynecologists, 50% of anesthesiologists, and little under 50% of
paramedical staff have registered as conscientious objectors. It
is not at all infrequent for the totality of staff in some public
hospitals to be conscientious objectors. In a number of regions,
especially in the South, this prevents the implementation of the
law and forces many women to turn to health care facilities in
other regions. The higher percentage of illegal abortions in the
South of the country is undoubtedly due to this malfunction.
Nonetheless, despite the many difficulties, it can be confidently
stated that abortion is no longer used as a form of birth
control. However, since the resort to abortion is still caused
by a lack of knowledge concerning birth control methods, it is
imperative to extend the network of Consultori created under Law
405/75. These centers total a mere 2,632, which means that there
are only 1.8 of them per 10,000 women in fertile age (15-49
years). This figure is obviously inadequate, especially
considering the uneven spread of services throughout the country:
while Umbria boasts 4 centers per 10,000 women and Valle d'Aosta
6.2, regions such as Sicily, Calabria and Puglia have only 1.4,
and Campania trails behind with only 1 center per 10,000 women.
210. Law 194/78 has been at one and the same time an
effective instrument against illegal abortions and a good
mediation among different cultural and political trends
represented in Parliament. Despite this, challenges against this
law, aimed at limiting women's self-determination, are a
recurrent feature. At the same time, there is debate in the
country on the idea of completely depenalising abortion,
developed within some groups of the women's movement.
211. The last few years have witnessed a lively debate on
bio-ethical issues, revolving round the development of assisted
reproduction techniques, such as artificial insemination with
partner or donor semen, the insemination of women beyond fertile
age, surrogate motherhood, crioconservation and experimentation
on embryos. Several bills have been submitted to Parliament,
some of which propose the adoption of a charter on the rights of
the embryo. The "pro-life" movement has promoted a collection of
signatures calling for the attribution of the legal status of
personhood to an embryo from the first moment of conception.
212. Until now, lacking legislative regulations, private
centres have practiced all forms of assisted reproduction,
irrespective of whether it is required by individual women or by
couples. In public hospitals, on the contrary, following a
Ministry of Health circular only artifical insemination required
by married couples is allowed, and only in cases of sterility and
using the husbands own semen. These are the most restrictive
provisions existing in the whole of Europe. Recently the
professional code of conduct of the medical profession has again
listed a number of banned practices, which no longer include the
ban on insemination with donor semen or the exclusive eligibility
of married couples but maintains the ban on insemination not
involving heterosexual couples
5. Adoption
213. Law 184 of May 4th 1983 contained a whole range of
provisions on the adoption of abandoned children. After a period
of pre-adoption custody during which the childþs blood relations
may raise objections the adoption may legally be declared. Any
link between the child and his/her family of origin is then
severed. Only married carried are eligible to adopt children
except for explicitly stated cases. The law also contemplates
temporary custody which can be declared when children are
temporarily abandoned. To avoid situations where such custody may
result in unfounded hopes on the part of temporary guardians and
to stress the specific solidarity-oriented nature of this
provision, the law openly states that the child must be entrusted
to couples with children.
214. Because eligibility conditions for adoption are very
strict and the consequences of a declaration of adoption are
practically irreversible, there is major disproportion between
the high number of applications and the limited number of
children who can be adopted. Many couples resort to international
adoption, but in this field as well there is disproportion
between the number of applicants and the adoption rulings
enacted.
215. The government has prepared draft legislation to reform
this law harmonising it with the content of the Hague Convention
of May 29th 1993. This is aimed at improving the position of
people having recourse to international adoption procedures, for
example introducing the right to take leave from work; procedures
for such adoptions are made more transparent, thus ensuring
greater protection for foreign children from the dangers of
malpractices. The condition of these children is legally
harmonised with that of Italian adopted children.
216. Though the Hague Convention mentions both couples and
individuals as eligible applicants, the ratification legislation,
drafted by the Italian government, has chosen to use the
expression "Italian citizens who have the requisites prescribed
by law, leaving open the possibility of future changes in basic
adoption legislation.
217. A further problem concerns the age requisites for
applicants, not mentioned by the Hague Convention, but foreseen
by Italian legislation as being at least 18 years and not more
than 40 years difference between the ages of the adoptive parents
and the child. The government bill leaves the regulation of this
to further legislation, although there is pressure from many
parts to amend these provisions since marriage and parenthood now
occur at a later age and women often apply for adoption after
many failed attempts at pregnancy.
-----
Notes
1/ The Italian expression corresponding to "use of time", or
policies on th use of time", refers to the notion, common in
women's and feminist debate, that the "timing" needed to
reconcile paid work with caring activities is a crucial factor in
women's lives. Policies on these issues are described later in
this chapter.
2/ Istituto Studi Terza Eta` e SPI-CGIL, "Le economie delle
relazioni", Laterza 1996.
3/ Carlo Borzaga, Welfare mix e ruolo delle organizzazioni non
profit, Rome 1996.
4/ A procedure which allows citizens to directly introduce a
bill into the Italian parliamentary system for debate and
enactment.
5/ The Report was prepared by Parsec, (Association for Social
Research and Intervention), in cooperation with the University of
Florence, 1996.
6/ Among the most relevant ones: a Resolution on Trafficking in
Human Beings adopted by the European Parliament in January 1996;
four Joint Actions adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs
Council to combat trafficking in human beings (data?); the above-
quoted Conference in Vienna (June 1996), followed by a
Communication by the European Commission to the Council and to
the European Parliament (November 1996).
7/ Italy was one of the sponsors of the resolution on "Traffic
in Women and Girls" recently adopted by the UN Commission on the
Status of Women.
8/ Caritas Italiana, Fondazione Zancan, I bisogni dimenticati.
Rapporto 1996 su emarginazione ed esclusione sociale, Feltrinelli
1997.
9/ INPS (National Social Security Institute), average monthly
amount of pensions paid by the National Pension Fund for Wage and
Salary Earners, 1.1.1996.
10/ Istituto per gli Studi sui Servizi Sociali-Ministero
dell'Interno, 1994, quoted in Caritas Italiana, Fondazione
Zancan, op.cit.
11/ Caritas Italiana Fondazione Zancan, op.cit.
12/ Ministero del Tesoro, Pensioni integrate all minimo -
Analisi degli aspetti strutturali e finanziari 1992-94.
13/ Susanna Conti, Gino Ferchi, Anita Glletti, Giovanni Rezza,
Sabina Prati, AIDS: a problem of great relevance to women's
health, Epid Prev 1996; 20, 133-135
14/ For all this paragraph, see Fabrizio Faggiano, Adele Seniori
Costantini, Giuseppe Costa, Social Differences and women's health
in Italy, Epid Prev 1996; 20; 251-254.
15/ id.
16/ European Institute of Women's Health, op.cit.
17/ Data provided by Dr.Fiorenza D'Ippolito, from the Prevention
Department of the Ministry of Health.
18/ Evans, L. Italy has Europe's highest caesarean section rate,
BMJ 1995; 310;487. Quoted in: Vittorio Basevi, Luigi Cerrone,
Still Births, caesarean section, and the regional economy in
Italy, 1991. Epid Prev 1996; 20: 99-101
19/ Vittorio Basevi, Luigi Cerrone, op.cit.
20/ Franca Bimbi, La debolezza delle politiche familiari in
Italia. Un caso di federalismo mancato?