THEYesterday an important vote was held in the European Parliament. They have had the green light the resolutions calling on theEuropean Union to join the Istanbul Convention against violence on women (although it has not yet been ratified by six Member States). But the Lega and Fratelli d’Italia mostly abstained. Two deputies from the League voted against. The reasons are of method but also of method.
A demonstration against gender-based violence, in Milan (Photo by Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images)
What is the Istanbul Convention
There Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known more briefly as the Istanbul Convention, includes obligations for states to introduce protection and support services to tackle violence against women. For example, among the various requirements, an adequate number of shelters, anti-violence centers, 24-hour hotlines, psychological counseling and medical assistance for victims. It also calls on the authorities to ensure thegender equality educationsexuality and healthy relationships.
The accession of the European Union to the Istanbul Convention
It was signed by the European Union as a bloc (in 2017), but still ratified due to the refusal of some countries such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia. Others, such as Turkey, have withdrawn from the treaty. Several times the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen he said that this delay “is not acceptable” and that membership of the whole European Union was a priority for his Commission.
Why did Lega and Fratelli d’Italia vote against or abstain?
Why did Lega and Fratelli d’Italia vote against or abstain? The head of delegation of Fratelli d’Italia-Ecr in the European Parliament explains it in a note Carlo Fidanza and the MEP of FdI Vincenzo Sofo. «For a reason of method and one of merit. As regards the method, we consider problematic the fact that in order to speed up the ratification of the Convention by the EU it was decided to proceed by qualified majority and no longer by unanimity. A dangerous precedent for future decisions on new international agreements. On the merits, with our abstention we wanted to reiterate our concern on issues related to gender».
The “gender” theory, the controversial point of the Istanbul Convention
The question, therefore, is in the so-called “gender ideology”: this is the reason why not only the Italian right but also Christian organizations and conservative movements have already lined up against it. Suffice it to say that, in March 2021, Turkeywhich was the first country to sign and ratify the Convention, withdrew from it, arguing that it was used to “normalize homosexuality”which is “incompatible with Turkey’s social and family values”. Poland, which ratified the Convention in 2015, is seeking to revoke it, deeming it “harmful” because according to Warsaw, the treaty would impose the teaching of “gender theory” to children in schools.
«We want once again to denounce the constant exploitation of the Convention by the rainbow left, which they would like to make it yet another Trojan horse to impose the LGBT agenda», the Fdi note “denounces”. In fact, the Court of Justice has already clarified that the Convention it would have no effect anyway on matters falling within the exclusive competence of the Member States, as they are education and family law. And, of course, the Fdi know it: “There is no possibility that the Convention will be used to impose specific regulations on national governments”. But it’s still worth arguing against it.
What the Convention says about the term “gender”
Actually the Convention (simply?) defines it as Genre the «roles, behaviors, activities e socially constructed attributes that a particular society considers appropriate for women and men” and recognizes “than gender stereotypes help make violence acceptable to some people against women”. On the educational front, we speak of «include in school programs of all types and levels of teaching materials on topics such as gender equality, non-stereotyped gender roles”. Nowhere is any thesis presented that claims to deny the biological difference between men and women.
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