Political Cultures and Women’s Rights in Spain and Italy: The Impact of Feminist Historical Trajectories on Institutional Approaches and the Perception of Gender- Based Violence

Abstract

This study aims to compare Spanish and Italian policies on gender-based violence, situating them within their respective historical and political contexts and assessing their relationship with the evolution of feminist movements in both countries. Spain has been a pioneer in recognising gender-based violence as a phenomenon specifically concerning power relations between men and women, whilst Italy struggles to move away not so much, and not only, from a view linked to its occasional nature and urgency, but from an idea of neutrality associated with the domestic sphere and from a refusal to frame the issue in terms of a violation of equality between men and women. As regards Spain, the analysis of Law 1/2004 is central, as it represents a watershed not only at the national level, but also in shaping the legal and historical-political positioning of the phenomenon, including the 2011 Istanbul Convention itself. By contrast, the Italian case shows significant development, though not as significant as the Spanish one. It is appropriate, and this is the aim of this study, to examine the historical reasons underlying policies on gender-based violence. The hypothesis from which we start, and which we seek to verify, is based on the notable differences in the theorisation of women’s rights, on the one hand, and, on the other, on the differing development of the feminist wave of the 1970s and 1980s.

Received: 2026/01/17

Admitted: 2026/06/12