London to protest in support of lesbian mums stripped from birth certificates in Italy
Protestors are set to gather today (2 August) outside of the Italian Embassy in London in “solidarity with lesbian mums in Italy”.
Mums across the country have had their names stripped from their baby’s birth certificates under Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government.
On Wednesday at 5pm, activists will gather to show solidarity for the Italian queer community at a protest named Lesbians Are Mothers Too.
The protest comes amid lesbian mums telling PinkNews they are living in “fear” over the actions of Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who introduced the new rule.
One mother said “we don’t want to live in fear,” revealing that the policy has led her to attempt to adopt their child, despite feeling unsure of the outcome.
Ilaria Todde, advocacy director at EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community (EL*C) – a lesbian feminist and intersectional network – told PinkNews the network has coordinated similar demonstrations across Europe outside Italian embassies.
*‘Direct violation of human rights’ *
She said the protests aim to “express international solidarity with lesbian mums in Italy that have been directly impacted by Meloni’s far-right government.”
Todde said the removal of non-biological mums from birth certificates is a “direct violation of human rights and puts the children at risk” while it strips the non-biological mothers of rights without written person from the birth parent.
“As an Italian living in a different country (Belgium) that allows me to have children with my wife, it means that I am forced by the Italian government to choose between having a family of my own and being able to ever return to Italy.”
EL*C have already held protests in France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal and plan to hold further rallies across Europe and the UK.
*‘Every family is valid’*
LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall will also be in attendance, with its director of external affairs, Robbie de Santos, saying that he has been “shocked by the attacks on lesbian non-biological mothers in Italy”.
Santos said: “Every family is valid and every family deserves legal recognition and protection.
“We stand in solidarity with lesbian families in Italy who are bravely standing against this regressive policy. We call on the UK Government and political leaders in the UK to condemn these awful attacks and stand up for the progress we have made here in the UK and across the world.”
The move comes after right-wing populist PM Giorgia Meloni’s announcement that state agencies should no longer register the children of same-sex couples, with a state prosecutor in northern Italy ordering the cancellation and re-issuance of 33 birth certificates of lesbian couples’ children, as reported by the Human Rights Watch.