Italy
Italy regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Italy’s Criminal Code contains general penalty-enhancement and substantive offence provisions. Hate crime data are collected by law-enforcement authorities and the Ministry of Interior. Data are not made publicly available.
Official country information
| Bias motivation | Type of crime | Recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Racism and xenophobia | Homicide | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Physical assault | 34 | 0 | 0 | |
| Damage to property | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
| Theft/ robbery | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vandalism | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Threats/ threatening behaviour | 52 | 0 | 0 | |
| Disturbance of the peace | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Unspecified | 299 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bias against Christians and members of other religions | Physical assault | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Damage to property | 16 | 0 | 0 | |
| Theft/ robbery | 44 | 0 | 0 | |
| Threats/ threatening behaviour | 20 | 0 | 0 | |
| Unspecified | 67 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity | Homicide | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Physical assault | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vandalism | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Threats/ threatening behaviour | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Unspecified | 15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bias against people with disabilities and other groups | Unspecified | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Hate crimes recorded by police by bias motivation
Official figures recorded 413 racist and xenophobic crimes, including one murder, 34 assaults, 11 property damage crimes, nine cases of theft or robbery, four cases of vandalism, 52 threats, three cases of disturbance of the peace and 299 other unspecified crimes. This category includes crimes registered as committed with a bias against "Race/colour," "Ethnicity/national origin/minority", "Citizenship", "Language" and "Roma and Sinti".
As divided by type of crime:
Official figures recorded 153 anti-religious crimes, including six assaults, 16 property damage crimes, 44 cases of theft or robbery, 20 cases of threats and 67 other crimes. This category includes anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-Christian and all other anti-religious hate crimes.
As divided by type of crime:
Official figures recorded 27 crimes against LGBT people, including one homicide, one assault, five cases of threats, five vandalism cases and 27 other crimes.
As divided by type of crime:
Official figures recorded three anti-disability hate crimes.
As divided by type of crime:
Hate crimes recorded by police by type of crime
As divided by bias motivation:
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National developments
The Ministry of Interior's Department of Public Security continued implementing the ODIHR-sponsored TAHCLE programme. Selected public security officials and 15 Carabinieri officers were trained as trainers and an additional 100 police superintendents and 60 Carabinieri officers were directly trained by ODIHR.
In follow-up to TAHCLE, and as part of a large-scale training campaign, a number of trainings courses for law enforcement and Carabinieri were organized, addressing issues of discrimination and hate crimes. The courses are five teaching hours long and address operational aspects of police work. About 1,850 police officers, including border police officers, were trained.
As part of the national strategy to prevent and combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, covering the 2013-2015 period, National Office against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) organized two training courses (training-of-trainers) for 28 National Police and 28 Carabinieri officers.
Furthermore, a 2013-2015 national action plan against racism, xenophobia and intolerance has been developed and is pending final approval by the competent political bodies.
Civil society information
Overview of incidents reported by civil society
| Bias Motivation | Attacks Against People | Attacks Against Property | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Attacks | Threats | |||
| Racism and xenophobia | 43 | 13 | 3 | |
| Bias against Roma and Sinti | 5 | 7 | 9 | |
| Anti-Semitism | 1 | 1 | 13 | |
| Bias against Muslims | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Bias against Christians and members of other religions | 3 | 2 | 10 | |
| Bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 24 | 36 | |
| Grand Total | 114 | |||
Reports
Racism and xenophobia
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Lunaria reported 37 incidents of physical assault, of which 21 caused serious injuries requiring medical attention and three were carried out by groups; six attacks by groups against groups of victims, including four incidents where residences were attacked, and one incident of robbery committed by a group, during which the victim was also stoned. Lunaria also reported two arson attacks on lodgings for immigrants, one incident in which firecrackers were thrown inside a settlement for refugees, one incident in which gunshots were fired towards a refugee centre, 11 incidents of threats, and one incident of graffiti.read more ›
Bias against Roma and Sinti
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The Association 21 July and Lunaria reported an arson attack on a Roma settlement and two incidents in which gunshots were fired at the homes of Roma families. Lunaria additionally reported two physical assaults carried out by groups and two attacks on Roma settlements by groups, one arson attack on a Roma settlement and two incidents of threats, including a series of threats made against a local official supporting Roma-friendly initiatives. The Association 21 July additionally reported a series of assaults against four Roma people carried out by a group, a bomb threat against a reception facility for Roma families housing 400 people, seven arson attacks against the homes of Roma families and two incidents in which gunshots were fired at the homes of Roma families.read more ›
Anti-Semitism
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The Observatory for anti-Semitism and Lunaria reported a series of threatening incidents occurring in the days surrounding Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January, in which pigs' heads were sent to six Jewish institutions and activists. Lunaria reported a physical assault on a Maghrebin man who was presumed to be Jewish. The Observatory for anti-Semitism reported five incidents of graffiti, including a series of Holocaust-denying graffiti in the days surrounding 27 January.read more ›
Bias against Muslims
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Lunaria reported one physical assault against an Eritrean man, during which anti-Muslim insults were used, and one incident of threats targeting a municipal official because of her faith, leading to her decision to leave Italy.read more ›
Bias against Christians and members of other religions
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The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians reported the attempted murder of a Christian Nigerian woman, one incident of damage to a church and an arson attack on a nativity scene.read more ›
Bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity
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World Without Nazism reported one homophobic physical assault.read more ›
IGO information
Racism and xenophobia
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The UN Universal Periodic Review Working Group recommended in its report that authorities reinforce measures to combat attacks against minority groups, by emphasizing prevention of and follow-up on these acts.
Holy See information
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The Holy See reported five incidents of the desecration of cemeteries, four incidents of burglaries or thefts in churches in which communion bread was stolen, and three cases of vandalism. The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDC) also reported one of these thefts and one of the incidents of vandalism. The Holy See additionally reported two incidents of graffiti and one incident of damage to property. The Italian authorities reported that bias motivation could not be confirmed in any of the incidents.
Key observation
ODIHR observes that Italy has not reported the numbers of prosecuted and information on sentenced hate crime cases to ODIHR.
