Italy has the most same-sex civil marriage it has had in six years

Italy’s national statistics office said on Friday that the number of same-sex civil unions reached a six-year high in 2023. However, LGBTQ groups say that the present conservative government is making life harder for them.

Last year, there were 3,019 same-sex unions, which is 7.3% more than the previous year. It was the most since 2017, the first full year after same-sex marriages became legal under a center-left government.

Data showed that there were more than 184,000 weddings (only for straight couples) and about 82,000 separations and 80,000 divorces in 2023. This was still a small number.

When she ran for office in 2022, Giorgia Meloni promised to protect traditional family values and fight against what she and her supporters call the LGBT lobby. She did this by leading a right-wing alliance.

Since then, her government has tried to stop local governments from identifying both parents for children of same-sex parents. Also, parliament passed a bill last month that makes it illegal for any couple to go abroad to have a baby through surrogacy.

Christian conservative groups like these changes, but the center-left opposition and LGBT rights campaigners don’t. They think the ban on surrogacy unfairly targets same-sex couples.

In 2016, Italy legalized civil unions between people of the same gender, even though Catholic and conservative groups were against it. However, they did not give them the right to adopt.