Move follows high-profile murder of Giulia Tramontana.

The Italian cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill containing a series of proposals designed to combat violence against women and to strengthen measures already in place.

The bill, which will require approval in parliament, was presented by the minister for family, birth rates and equal opportunities, Eugenia Roccella.

The government proposes modifying the codice rosso law, which gives priority to cases of domestic and gender-based violence, to make the legislation more effective.

The package includes a greater emphasis on prevention and warnings, new restraining orders and increased surveillance on men guilty of domestic violence, giving priority to court cases involving violence against women, and boosting the emergency gender violence hotline 1522.

Since the beginning of this year there have been 41 feminicides in Italy.

These include the recent high-profile murder in Milan of the seven-month pregnant Giulia Tramontano, killed by her partner, in a case that shocked the nation.