Still opposition even as Italy on verge of completing historic year for LGBT rights, but progressives must maintain their optimism

The Catholic Church stands in the way of Italy extending legal recognition to same-sex couples. Photograph: St Peter's Basilica from Pixabay (License) (Cropped)

Later this week, the Senate in Italy will be deciding how to respond to condemnation for the lack of legal recognition of same-sex couples (BBC, 2016). The government of Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister and leader of the Partito Democratico, has put legislation on same-sex unions before the Senate to introduce civil partnerships after criticism from the European Court of Human Rights.

Italy was ruled by the ECHR in the summer as being in breach of human rights by not allowing same-sex unions (Kirchgaessner, 2015). That ruling seems to have inspired fresh hope of progress, with campaigners out in numbers over the weekend to call for a change in the law (Kirchgaessner, 2016).

The road to change in Italy, though, is still filled with obstacles. There are deeply ingrained attitudes to overcome (Scammell, 2016) and the power of the Catholic Church is behind the conservative opposition (The Guardian, 2016).

However, the public campaigns for same-sex unions show that there is a possibility of change. The successes of other civil rights campaigns around the world also highlight what can be accomplished. Big steps forward where made last year, on a number of fronts - even when just considering the fight for LGBT rights.

In the US there were reassuring steps, with a Supreme Court ruling establishing that equal marriage was a constitutional right (Roberts & Siddiqui, 2015). Barack Obama celebrated the decision as making the 'union a little more perfect', marking a rare win for the Democrat President in an extremely partisan time in the White House (Jacobs, 2015).

Meanwhile Ireland became the first country in the world to secure the passage of equal marriage by a popular referendum, with an emphatic 62% voting in favour (The Irish Times, 2015). That vote had the additional significance of leaving Italy as the last Western country to not have some form of civic union for same-sex couples (Duncan, 2016).

Later this week in the UK, the Commons will be considering an amendment to the Civil Partnerships Bill that aims to extend civil unions - originally intended as a same-sex alternative to marriage - to opposite-sex couples (Bowcott, 2016).

Though it may seem like a sideshow, at a time when these matters are being debated, it would be a positive and signal step to make all forms of civil union equal, whether marriage or partnership, regardless of gender pairing. For those who are socially excluded, the aim is to be treated as equals.

A chance to take some steps towards that parity approaches in Italy. Yet the outcome of the Senate vote is far from certain. Italy has had a difficult history with liberalising reforms. Campaigns have long been left to parties on the fringe, such as the Radicals, who have campaigned for everything from the separation of church and state to the rights to divorces and abortions (Moliterno, 2000).

And over everything, the Catholic Church casts a long shadow (The Guardian, 2016). The Pope, weighing in on the upcoming vote, declared that god wanted only one type of family union, procreative and insoluble, and no other.

It can be demotivating as a progressive to have a year filled with conservatism, populist nationalism and neoliberal austerity, with discrimination still protected by powerful institutions. To discover in the news that, in the middle of a humanitarian crisis, those most in need of help face segregation - in the most recent case, refugees being forced to wear red wristbands as distinctive markers used to distinguish them (Taylor & Johnston, 2016).

But 2015 also served as a reminder of how much that is positive might be achieved, even under a conservative stranglehold. Progressives must draw upon these accomplishments for strength as they move forward, in order to, as Yanis Varoufakis argues (Varoufakis & Pisarello, 2016), maintain the optimism needed in the continued struggle against discrimination and the hegemony that protects it.

References

'Italy same-sex marriage: Rallies held across country'; on the BBC; 24 January 2016.

Stephanie Kirchgaessner's 'Italy violates human rights of same-sex couples, court rules: European court increases pressure on Matteo Renzi, whose country is only major western European state not to recognise civil partnerships or same-sex marriage'; in The Guardian; 21 July 2015.

Stephanie Kirchgaessner's 'Protests held across Italy in support of legalising same-sex unions: Senate due to vote on whether to change law in last western European country not to recognise civil unions or gay marriage'; in The Guardian; 24 January 2016.

Rosie Scammell's 'Treat surrogate parents as sex offenders, says Italian minister: Angelino Alfano says ‘wombs for rent’ should be punishable with prison, as he suggests new laws will make it easier for gay couples to use surrogate mothers'; in The Guardian; 6 January 2016.

'Pope Francis defends 'traditional' marriage ahead of Italy civil unions vote: ontiff says God wants ‘indissoluble matrimony that unites and allows procreation’ as senate prepares to debate rights for same-sex couples'; in The Guardian; 23 January 2016.

Dan Roberts & Sabrina Siddiqui's 'Gay marriage declared legal across the US in historic supreme court ruling'; in The Guardian; 26 June 2015.

Ben Jacobs' '"Love is love": Obama lauds gay marriage activists in hailing "a victory for America"'; in The Guardian; 26 June 2015.

'President signs same-sex marriage into Constitution'; The Irish Times; 29 August 2015.

Pamela Duncan's 'A history of same-sex unions in Europe: As Italy’s Senate prepares to vote on the introduction of civil unions, we take a look at the rights of gay and lesbian couples across the continent'; in The Guardian; 24 January 2016.

Owen Bowcott's ' Heterosexual couple challenge restrictions on civil partnerships: High court hears argument that restricting civil partnerships to same-sex couples is ‘incompatible with equality law’'; in The Guardian; 19 January 2016.

Gino Moliterno's (Ed.) 'Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture'; Routledge, 2000.[Buy Now]

Diane Taylor & Chris Johnston's 'Asylum seeker wristband policy to be dropped: Private firm to stop making asylum seekers in Cardiff wear coloured bands to ensure they receive meals'; in The Guardian; 25 January 2016.

Yanis Varoufakis & Gerardo Pisarello's 'In conversation with Gerardo Pisarello on democracy, Europe and municipalism'; from Yanis Varoufakis; 21 January 2016.