Italy is facing renewed alarm over femicide and violence against women after six women were killed by current or former partners in the days following the Ferragosto holiday.
The latest deaths came on Tuesday, when two women were killed in separate incidents in Calabria and Lazio. The cases have brought renewed attention to the effectiveness of measures designed to protect women already exposed to domestic and relationship violence.
The incidents come some 9 months after Italy introduced a specific criminal offence of femicide, making the killing of a woman in certain circumstances of gender-based hatred, control, possession or domination a distinct crime.
Two more women killed on Tuesday
In Calabria, a 72-year-old woman was found dead in a field near Corigliano-Rossano, in the province of Cosenza. Investigators suspect that she may have been killed with stones and have detained her 74-year-old husband. The circumstances and cause of death are being established through the investigation and autopsy.
In Colleferro, south of Rome, a 50-year-old woman of Polish origin was stabbed to death at the home she shared with her family. Police arrested her 69-year-old Tunisian husband nearby. He later confessed to killing her, according to investigators.
The alarm was raised at around 3.30pm when one of the couple’s daughters returned home and called emergency services. The woman was still alive when police arrived but died from her injuries despite attempts to save her. One of the couple’s children is reported to have witnessed the attack.
The couple had been married for around 30 years and had five children. Unlike some of the other recent cases, there were reportedly no previous complaints against the husband, although the mayor of Colleferro said there may have been warning signs that were overlooked.
A woman who had already sought help
One of the most troubling recent cases occurred near Venice. Tania Terrin, 39, was killed in Camponogara after the end of her relationship with Dino Keber, 43. Keber was subsequently found dead at his own home in what investigators are treating as a murder-suicide.
Terrin had previously reported her former partner and an official warning had been issued against him by the Venice police chief. Investigators are examining the history of the relationship and the measures taken following her complaints.
Another recent death involved 46-year-old Ornella Forastefano in Calabria. She died after suffering severe injuries and being left outside a hospital. Her partner was arrested at the port of Bari while apparently attempting to leave for Albania. A judge has since validated his detention and ordered him held in prison.
The concentration of cases has led to renewed questions about whether existing mechanisms are identifying and protecting women at risk quickly enough.
Domestic violence and femicide remain cause for concern
According to Interior Ministry figures covering the first six months of 2026, 34 women were victims of homicide or the newly defined offence of femicide, compared with 54 during the same period in 2025. The ministry recorded 26 female victims of voluntary homicide and eight victims of the new femicide offence during the first half of this year.
The longer-term figures nevertheless demonstrate how closely women’s killings remain connected to domestic and intimate relationships. In 2025, 97 women were murdered in Italy, according to Interior Ministry data, with 85 killed by someone within their family or emotional circle.
That pattern is one reason prevention remains such a central issue. In the first half of 2026, police warnings relating to domestic violence increased by 24.1%, reaching 3,247. Warnings relating to domestic violence and stalking combined reached 4,582.
Focus on prevention
Italy has also attempted to address the problem through education, particularly by encouraging young people to understand healthy relationships, consent and respectful behaviour. However, plans to introduce relationship and emotional education in schools have proved politically contentious. The government’s approach made participation conditional on parental approval, limiting the extent to which such programmes could become a universal part of school education.
The recent deaths have once again placed prevention at the centre of the debate.
