Italian anti-discrimination legislation in the light of supranational legislation and jurisprudence and the new draft Law against gender discrimination (homophobia)

Abstract

The Zan Bill proposes to expand the current legal framework of crimes against equality in the Italian legal system, made up of specific incriminating infractions and a common aggravating circumstance, to extend the discrimination factors also those based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. From the jurisprudential analysis of the European Court of Human Rights on discrimination based on gender and, particularly, homophobia, a clear orientation towards the reinforced protection of sexual minorities can be deduced. Once a strong need and merit for criminal intervention against gender discrimination has been confirmed, the need emerges to continue reflecting on the limits of criminal intervention in this area and the choice of intervention techniques that best fit the principles of proportionality. and subsidiarity.