Gender-Affirming Care in Italy

Gender-affirming care in Italy is provided in specialized outpatient clinics (CIDIGeM in Turin, SAIFIP in Rome and others).

Organization

Gender-affirming care in Italy is provided in specialized outpatient clinics (CIDIGeM in Turin, SAIFIP in Rome and others). ONIG (Osservatorio Nazionale sull'Identità di Genere) plays a coordinating role.

Legal framework

Law 164 of 1982 regulated legal gender recognition. Since 2015, prior surgery has no longer been mandatory following a ruling by the Constitutional Court.

Current debates

In 2024 and 2025, questions about puberty blockers appeared in the Italian media and parliament, partly influenced by the Cass Review and Italy's National Health Council. The Italian organization Generazione D is one of the critical voices in that debate. An overview of the countries that have restricted the prescription of puberty blockers is available at puberteitsblokkers.nl.

Triptorelin

Italy regulated the use of puberty blockers in 2019. The medicines agency AIFA added triptorelin, a GnRH agonist, to the list of medicines reimbursed for gender dysphoria in young people, following advice from the National Committee for Bioethics in 2018. That advice set conditions: case-by-case assessment by a multidisciplinary team and prior psychological and psychiatric support.

Inspection in Florence

The debate intensified in 2024, when the Ministry of Health sent inspectors to Careggi Hospital in Florence, one of the main centers for young people. The reason was concern about whether the prescribed psychological support had preceded the prescription of triptorelin in all cases. The hospital subsequently suspended prescribing the medication to children and young people with gender dysphoria.

2025 bill

In August 2025, the Council of Ministers approved a bill proposed by the ministers of health and family affairs. The bill makes puberty blockers and hormones for minors conditional on a diagnosis by a multidisciplinary team and documented outcomes from prior psychological, psychotherapeutic or psychiatric support. The medicines may only be dispensed by hospital pharmacies, and AIFA will maintain a national registry whose data will be sent to the ministry every six months.

Case law

In 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled that a judge cannot introduce a third gender designation; that is a matter for the legislature. In the same ruling, the court removed the requirement for judicial authorization of surgery when the transition had already been completed. How neighboring countries regulate these issues is discussed in the articles on France, Switzerland and Austria.