Chamber of Deputies presents report regarding the orphans of femicide

 ROME - Il Messaggero reports Thursday that a report of 112 pages resulting from 23 hearings and over a year of fine-tuning and mediation which discussed the orphans of femicide due to domestic violence was unanimously approved by the parliamentary commission of inquiry dealing specifically with femicide.

 The text, presented by chairwoman Martina Semenzato and MPs Elisabetta Christiana Lancellotta and Elena Bonetti on Wednesday, analyses the current regulatory framework, but that's not all: it also provides an overview of existing psyhological and economic protections and the rights of orphans – not least the right to privacy– and compares the situation with that in other countries. Finally, fifteen proposals to “reverse the trend” are set out in writing.

 Starting with the establishment of a national register of orphans that will allow the scale of the phenomenon to be analysed. As highlighted in the introduction, “the true scale is unknown”. All non-profit associations that provide free legal and psychological assistance to orphans of domestic crimes and to those who care for them must be registered.

 Among the main proposals is the adjustment of financial support so that the one-off compensation generally provided to those victims of intentional violent crimes is paid to each individual orphan “in the amount of 60,000 euros and not, as is currently the case, a total of €60,000 to be divided among all the orphans in the same family.” In the same vein, there is also a request to expand the scope of the fund set up for the orphans of femicide victims to include, in addition to educational support, expenses for sports, school trips and cultural events.

 The commission proposes establishing an ad hoc public defender for orphans and a public utility number capable of providing useful information and guidance on public and private social and health services available throughout the country, including through a legal guidance email service.

 With a view to the well-being of minors, the commitment is to promote their placement in “known” family units, i.e. grandparents, uncles, aunts, older siblings, excluding an immediate recourse to educational communities or foster homes as a primary solution.

 Specific emphasis is also placed on psychological support, to be anchored to national guidelines and extended to foster families. To support them, there are also plans to provide work permits to ensure their presence in activities involving young people. More streamlined bureaucratic procedures, hearings in criminal proceedings with greater guarantees of coverage and, last but not least, the right to privacy online, which the members of the commission interpret as “reducing the online visibility of orphans who request it, if it is a source of pain or distress”.

 The commitments included in the report are not intended to remain merely on paper. “The aim of the inquiry,” explains Martina Semenzato, MP for Noi Moderati, to Il Messaggero, “is to share it with all the relevant ministries, in particular the Ministry of Justice. Of the fifteen programme points, some are financially neutral and others require funding. For all of them, the commissioners have committed to translating them into amendments or measures in future useful interventions.”

 Elena Bonetti of Azione, from the opposition, shares the same idea, convinced that it is “necessary to move forward in the legislative system with unified amendment proposals, starting with the budget law, to expand the economic protection of the orphans of femicide.”

 For Filippo Sensi of the Democratic Party, unanimous approval “does not mean that we all think the same way, but knowing how to turn our differences into a common value”. Perhaps a political exercise that the entire country needs.

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