A 45-year-old woman named Lorena Isceri has been killed and thrown off a motorway bridge near Florence, marking the seventh alleged femicide in Italy since mid-August. Isceri was abducted by her ex-boyfriend, Federico Vella, in the Rifredi area of Florence on Thursday afternoon. She was reportedly forced into the boot of his car and driven toward the A1 motorway bridge. Despite being abducted, Isceri still had her phone and managed to call an emergency helpline, informing operators of her situation. Vella allegedly took the phone from her, then threw her off the bridge before jumping off himself. Police traced her phone signal to the location but arrived too late to save her. Authorities are now investigating whether she was killed before being thrown off the bridge. Iscri's mother told SkyTg24 she last spoke to her daughter on Thursday morning and that she sounded fine. She mentioned that Isceri had discussed her relationship with Vella and was "very afraid." According to data from Italy’s interior ministry, there was a decline in femicides during the first six months of 2026, with 40 cases recorded so far this year. However, the number of such killings has risen sharply since 15 August, Italy’s Ferragosto national holiday, with seven women, including Isceri, killed by a current or former partner. Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition, which has become the longest-serving government in Italy’s history, had promised to address gender-based violence after public outrage over the 2023 murder of Giulia Cecchetin by her ex-boyfriend. Two years later, the government introduced a legal definition of femicide into criminal law, with life imprisonment as a possible punishment, and increased penalties for crimes such as stalking and the unauthorized sharing of intimate images. However, efforts to educate schoolboys about healthy relationships were stalled after the government made the program conditional on parental approval. Luisa Rizzitelli, the Italy coordinator for One Billion Rising, said while the Meloni government may celebrate its political longevity, there is little to celebrate in terms of progress on gender-based violence. She criticized the government’s approach as being too focused on security policies rather than long-term strategies for training and prevention. The decision not to implement sex and relationship education in schools is viewed as a significant factor in the recent rise of femicides in Italy.