Ferrara, December 3, 2013 – Italy holds the dubious distinction of being the only founding member state of the European Union without a law protecting LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people. Despite the principles of equality enshrined in Article 3 of the Constitution, the only minority in Italy has not had the extended guarantees of the Reale-Mancino Law, which does include ethnic groups, religious denominations, and linguistic minorities. The Senate Justice Committee is currently examining the Scalfarotto-Verini-Gitti bill on homotransphobia approved by the Chamber of Deputies. This bill has been harshly rejected by associations and has divided practitioners and jurists. To closely analyse the contents of this law and evaluate its application profiles, and more generally to discuss the phenomenon of homotransphobia in Italy, Articolo29, the legal portal on the issue of sexual orientation and gender identity, and Arcigay are organising the conference “Towards a law against homophobia and transphobia: profiles of criminal and constitutional law” for Friday 6 December 2013 in the Aula Magna of the Department of Law of the University of Ferrara (Corso Ercole I d'Este, from 3 pm).
“In a 2013 study carried out by Ilga (International Lesbian and Gay Association) – explains the curator of the initiative, lawyer Luca Morassutto – taking into consideration a percentage scale on a base of 100, Italy was considered attentive to the protection of the human rights of LGBT people in a percentage of 19%; lower values were found only in Bulgaria (18%), Turkey (14%), Kosovo (14%), Macedonia (13%), Ukraine (12%), Moldova (10%), Azerbaijan (8%), Armenia (8%), Russia (7%). Countries such as Poland (22%), Albania (38%), Montenegro (27%), Serbia (25%), Romania (31%) surpass Italy, while Portugal and Spain, both Catholic, reach 65%. In the European context, in short, the lack of protection for LGBT people in Italy represents a real ethical, political, and legal issue.
The conference, sponsored by the Municipality and Province of Ferrara, the Emilia-Romagna Region, and UNAR (National Office against Racial Discrimination), is being held in collaboration with the University of Ferrara and Circomassimo. The conference will open with a presentation by Professor Alessandro Bernardi, Professor of Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ferrara, and presentations by Professor Emilio Dolcini, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Milan, and Professor Andrea Pugiotto, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Ferrara. Greetings will follow from Luca Morassutto, Criminal Law Area Coordinator for Articolo29, and Cristiana Fioravanti, Equal Opportunities Delegate at the University of Ferrara. Following the presentations were Renato Sabbadini, general co-president of ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association); Flavio Romani, national president of Arcigay; Francesco Cirillo, deputy chief of police and prefect of OSCAD (Observatory for Security against Discriminatory Acts – Department of Public Security, Central Directorate of Criminal Police); and Eva Schwarzwald, former president of ECFA (European Children's Film Association).
The conference is free to attend and is accredited by the Ferrara Bar Association (3 credits). To register, please fill out the online form on the conference website: www.stopomofobia.it. For further information, please contact:
For further information, please write to [email protected].!
