Violence against women bill, Bongiorno presents revised text: focus on the principle of “dissent”

Rome, Jan. 22 (LaPresse) – The chair of the Senate Justice Committee, Giulia Bongiorno, has presented a proposal to reformulate the text of the bill against violence against women that the Chamber had approved as being centered on the principle of “free consent”. At the heart of the new text there is in fact the principle of “dissent” with regard to the sexual act. In particular, in the measure reviewed by LaPresse it reads: “Opposition to the sexual act must be assessed taking into account the situation and the context in which the act is committed. The sexual act is contrary to the will of the person also when it is committed by surprise or by taking advantage of the person’s inability, in the circumstances of the specific case, to express his or her dissent.” It is further specified that “the penalty is imprisonment from six to twelve years if the act is committed through violence or threat, abuse of authority, or by taking advantage of the conditions of physical or mental inferiority of the injured person. The penalty is reduced by an amount not exceeding two thirds when, due to the manner of the conduct and the circumstances of the specific case, as well as in consideration of the physical or mental harm inflicted on the injured person, the act is of lesser gravity.”