Overview
- The Chamber had unanimously approved the “free and current consent” wording after a reported Meloni–Schlein understanding, which opposition leaders now say the majority has broken.
- Lega, Fratelli d’Italia and Forza Italia withheld unanimity in the Senate Justice Committee and requested targeted hearings, citing technical doubts over the “cases of lesser gravity” clause and, in some accounts, the “current” aspect of consent.
- Without unanimity to waive amendments, the committee could not send the text directly to the floor, disrupting plans for a symbolic 25 November vote.
- Opposition parties walked out of the committee and asked the Chamber to pause the separate femminicidio bill, a request the lower house rejected.
- Bongiorno said the measure will proceed after a short round of hearings, delaying Senate approval by at least several weeks, as the Chamber on the same day gave final approval to the government’s femminicidio law.