Crowdfunding alert – Legal Defense Fund for Lesbian Families in Italy
1st September 2023
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Today, we call upon the global community to rally behind lesbian families under attack in Italy. We’re not just challenging a policy; we’re defending the fabric of what makes a family and the inalienable bond between parent and child.
We stand at a crossroads. The foundations of family and justice in Italy are under siege. The far-right government’s policies have struck at the very heart of lesbian families, erasing non-birth mothers from their children’s birth certificates. This move doesn’t just strip away a title; it infringes upon fundamental parental and children’s rights, casting dark shadows on the future of over 30 lesbian families, while more are expected to be targeted all over Italy.
You can access the crowdfunding link HERE.
Background information:
- In January this year, the Italian (far-right) government issued a communication urging local authorities to cease the practice of including both names of parents in the birth certificates of children of rainbow families.
- In consequence, in June 2023 in Padua, 27 rainbow families received a letter from the local prosecutor that their birth certificate was to be modified and the non-biological mother to be deleted from it. Three rainbow families (that we know of) are already affected by this removal.
- The response from our community was overwhelmingly positive with demonstrations being organised in Paris, Bruxelles, Berlin, Lisboa, Dublin, London, as well as other non-capital towns. In addition, the Italian lesbian and transfeminist NGOs organised an action in front of the Vatican.
We are now entering into a phase in which the request made by prosecutors will be examined by a Court and hearings will start quite soon – we expect in Mid-September. For this reason, EL*C coupled with Famiglie Arcobaleno, the LGBTIQ+ Families organisation, and decided to launch a crowdfunding to help the concerned families with the legal expenses. This is now a priority, due to the costs that are expected to be substantial.