New law on feminicide punishable by life imprisonment in force
As of 17 December 2025, the legislation introduces the autonomous crime of feminicide with a maximum penalty, extends the protected victims and tightens the penalties for crimes related to gender violence.
In force from 17 December 2025 the crime of feminicide and a series of other measures that aim to strengthen the protection, including criminal protection, of women.
The Conduct
In detail, the law introduces a specific offence of murder, aimed at punishing with life imprisonment anyone who causes the death of a woman by committing the act as an act of discrimination, hatred or prevarication, or through acts of control, possession or domination towards the victim as a woman.
Furthermore, the crime of feminicide is also provided for when the conduct is committed in connection with the woman's refusal to establish or maintain an emotional relationship or as an act of restriction of her individual freedoms.
The Penalty
The case of feminicide constitutes an autonomous and special hypothesis with respect to the crime of murder, for which the provision directly prescribes the application of life imprisonment, without establishing a framework between a minimum and a maximum penalty.
Other offences
The offence of ill-treatment against family members and cohabitees was also amended by extending, on the one hand, the type of possible victims, including also noncohabitees as long as they are related by filiation to the offender, and, on the other hand, by introducing a new aggravating circumstance when the conduct is committed in the manner established for the offence of feminicide. The mandatory confiscation of assets used to commit the crime of ill-treatment is also provided for.
