ABSTRACT
Carol Smart's Feminism and the Power of Law has been a key reference for Italian feminist critiques of law. Indeed, her critique of how law is gendered remains a pillar around which Italian feminism continues to question law. This chapter retraces the trajectories of Smart's influence with reference to differences of opinion within Italian legal feminism and feminist legal practice. When Sylviane Colombo introduced the term 'legal feminism' to Italian feminists in 1992 she described it as a set of critical perspectives on law produced by feminist scholars in the context of Anglo-American academia. Italy has witnessed a continuous process of legal reforms relating to intimate partner violence. While 'femicide' refers to the killing of a woman because she is a woman, 'feminicide' refers to the general context of gender-based discrimination and violence against women, including practices of public authorities that contribute to a culture of domination by allowing men to commit violent acts with impunity.
