Demonstrator holds sign reading “you explain to my son that I am not his mother” during rally in Milan on March 18, 2023 Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

The Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) Union CGIL will hold a major protest in Catania, Sicily today, protesting a recent gang rape on the Island.

The demands of the protesters mostly focus on tightening laws to protect women from sexual violence and precedes plans for a nationwide protest in October. Georgia Meloni’s government has been criticized for not delivering on promises for women’s rights advancements despite her campaign focus on family values. This pledge has materialized more on removing certain rights from homosexual couples and criminalizing surrogacy.

A harsher stance on sex crimes is still probable as it fits Meloni’s tough on crime narrative and would appeal to progressive feminist voters. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called for convicted rapists to be chemically castrated.

If extreme measures like Salvini’s castration policy are implemented, Italy could find itself in conflict with the EU over human rights concerns. While Meloni’s right-wing government has avoided widespread disputes with the EU by supporting Ukraine, European geopolitical positions, and the European Parliament’s conservative wing, future domestic policy disputes are possible. Thus, increased penalties for sex crimes that are more moderate than Salvini’s are likely to be implemented.