FdI, from the bill on bullying ‘gender’ replaced by ‘sex’

The battle over identity, over the difference between man and woman, male and female, arrives in Parliament. This time the party of Melons takes aim at vocabulary and aims to eliminate the word “gender” from the bill to combat bullying (under discussion in the Justice and Social Affairs committees of the Chamber). The objective of the Brothers of Italy amendment is to cancel the term from the provision and replace it with the word “sex”. In short, a way to claim the hostility of FdI, as well as of the other right-wing parties, towards everything related to gender identity and the issues of LGBTQ+ rights. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the amendment is presented precisely on the days when the president of Lazio, Francesco Roccahas decided to revoke the sponsorship of the Region at Rome Pride and the crime of surrogacy is being discussed in Parliament.

The bill

In total, there are 46 amendments presented by the majority and oppositions on the measure against bullying. None of the modification proposals presented by the groups distorts the formulation of the text, which focuses heavily on the preventive and re-educational phase of any “bullies”, giving a role to educational institutions and the family. Some amendments include the theme of the fight against early school leaving and youth problems, with the establishment of observatories in the various ministries. The others intervene to integrate the contents of the bill on the individual points but respecting its structure.

FdI’s amendment

Among the amendments to be voted on in the Justice and Social Affairs commissions of the Chamber there is, as mentioned, that of FdI which aims to replace the term “gender”, present in the bill, with the word “sex”. The first article of the bill defines bullying which “means repeated aggression or harassment, by a single person or a group of people, to the detriment of a minor or a group of minors, to cause feelings of anxiety, fear, isolation or marginalization, through harassing acts or behaviour, physical or psychological pressure or violence, instigation to suicide or self-harm, threats or blackmail, theft or damage, insults or derision”.

The text then indicates the starting points for these harassing acts: “For reasons of language, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, typephysical appearance, disability or other personal and social conditions of the victim”. And here the request of the Brothers of Italy comes into play, according to which the word “gender” must be replaced by “sex”. A request similar to that of the amendments presented in the last legislature by Meloni’s party to the Zan law on the fight against homophobia, measures which asked to maintain the concept of “sexual orientation” but not those of “type” and of “identity of type“.