For now, all that remains is the photo of Giorgia Meloni and Elly Schlein shaking hands. The women's "free and actual" consent—which, if lacking, certifies sexual violence, a sign of the bipartisan agreement signed by the two leaders— will have to wait until it becomes law.

In the Senate, just shy of final approval, the center-right yesterday blocked the bill on sexual violence, which was revolutionized by consensus. Despite the expedited process (which brought it to the floor today without amendments), the majority requested further investigation, resulting in a brief series of hearings and slowing down the process. The penalty for less serious cases, reduced by no more than two-thirds, appears unconvincing. But the current consensus is where the greatest doubts lie.

"They want to scuttle the measure," was the opposition's interpretation, taken aback by the "inexplicable" about-face, with parliamentarians from the Democratic Party, Five Star Movement, the Italian Social Republic (AVS), and Italy (IV) walking out of the Justice Committee that had begun discussing it.

"They betrayed him and at this point how can we believe them? They are turncoats", repeats the centre-left in chorus, calling into question the prime minister who was supposedly "denied by her own people".

Chaos erupted this afternoon in the Senate Chamber's Justice Committee, chaired by Northern League member Giulia Bongiorno. But the backtracking had been brewing for some time. It was triggered by chats and emails received by majority senators—as several parliamentarians tell it—from associations and experts questioning whether consent, now the deciding factor in violence, is truly warranted. The law, as approved by the Chamber of Deputies, in its sole article provides for a prison sentence of six to twelve years for anyone who causes, or causes, another person to perform or submit to sexual acts without "free and current" consent.

" The risk with the consent law is a reversal of the burden of proof; this is the doubt ," said Minister for Family, Birth Rates, and Equal Opportunities Eugenia Roccella today in an interview on the "Ping Pong" program on Rai Radio 1. In practice, it would no longer be the State that had to prove the defendant's guilt, but the defendant who had to prove his innocence. "It's better to take more time but pass a convincing law," she added. "What emerged after the law's approval in the Chamber of Deputies is strong doubts from important quarters: lawyers, former President of the Criminal Chambers Caiazza was very harsh on this law, and others have also raised doubts. Because the law will be passed, because it already exists. In the sense that consensus already exists, fortunately because it is a sacrosanct principle, in our jurisprudence through the rulings of the Supreme Court, and this has been the case for years."

Just "a postponement," emphasized Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, "confident" that the law will "certainly" be approved . "I don't know what happened yesterday," he told ANSA on the sidelines of a meeting. " It was an initiative of the parliamentary groups, but I can say that it's a small delay due to necessary technical references . When you intervene on a criminal law, even a comma can completely change its meaning, so you have to be extremely careful about drafting techniques. This involves fine-tuning, which isn't always done when a law is introduced, but there is consensus on the content."

Consensus is "absolutely acceptable in principle," said Deputy Prime Minister and League leader Matteo Salvini , "but a law that leaves too much room for individual interpretation risks clogging up the courts and fueling conflict instead of reducing violence. This sort of preliminary, informed, and current consent, as it is written, leaves room for personal vendettas by women and men, who, without any abuse, would use a vague law for personal vendettas that would clog up the courts ."

"I've already set a deadline of Monday to nominate the experts to be heard," said Justice Committee Chair Giulia Bongiorno. "I've asked the groups not to hear non-experts, so I want technicians. Secondly, no more than two per group can be heard. It will be a short series of expert hearings." She also assured—also in the name of her longstanding advocacy for women, especially as a lawyer—that the bill will move forward, hoping to be concluded "within a few weeks." " Let's do it better and let's all make this law together. I recognize that it's a proposal first put forward by the left (the initiative was by Laura Boldrini, ed.) , but the commitment is to get it done and improve it a little ."

It is "absolutely not true that introducing the concept of free and actual consent" to the crime of sexual assault "constitutes a reversal of the burden of proof," according to Fabio Roia, president of the Milan Court, a magistrate who has been working to combat gender violence for decades . This is also "because it will be the public prosecutor, not the woman, who will simply file a complaint, which is always made under the assumption of responsibility, to prove that the relationship occurred without free consent." The issue "is a suggestion, a profound legal and procedural error, and probably—but this is not for me to say—it could be an excuse for not passing a civilized law."

(Unioneonline/D)

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