Italy | HCRW

Italy regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Annual reports on hate crime have been published since 2010 and can be accessed here.

The Observatory for Security against Discriminatory Acts (OSCAD) carries out activities to prevent, counter and monitor hate crimes. OSCAD works closely with the National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR), which deals with non-criminal hate incidents and coordinates a permanent consultation group to promote LGBTI rights and protection.

Italy implemented ODIHR's TAHCLE (Training Against Hate Crime for Law Enforcement) programme in 2014. Italy also participated in ODIHR's project on "Building a Comprehensive Criminal Justice Response to Hate Crime", which included the training of police, civil society, and lawyers on hate crime investigation and victim support, and the mapping of available hate crime data in the Lombardy region.

SELECT YEAR

Download the 2012 hate crime report for Italy

OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES

Year	Hate crimes recorded by police	Prosecuted	Sentenced
2023	1,106	Not available	Not available
2022	1,393	Not available	Not available
2021	1,445	Not available	Not available
2020	1111	Not available	Not available
2019	1119	-	-
2018	1111	613	46
2017	1048	613	40
2016	736	424	31
2015	555	Not available	Not available
2014	596	Not available	Not available
2013	472	Not available	Not available
2012	71	Not available	10
2011	68	31	19
2010	56	Not available	60
2009	134	Not available	Not available

About 2012 Data

Download official data

National developments

The Observatory for Security against Acts of Discrimination promoted several initiatives to improve police responses to hate crime, across the regional and federal structures of the Italian Police including seminars and training sessions and held a seminar for personnel at the Public Security Department of the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, an inter-institutional working group discussed the development of a national strategy to prevent and combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, within the programme “Combating discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity” promoted by the Council of Europe.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR observes that Italy has not reported on hate crimes separately from cases of hate speech and/or discrimination.

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY

Total Incidents
Targeted properties
Type of property attacks

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Racist and xenophobic hate crime, Anti-Roma hate crime

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended that Italy provide training to local public authorities on racial discrimination, as a measure to address the lack of systemized training for law enforcement on obligations under the CERD treaty and the low number of prosecutions, despite the high number of hate crimes and violence. It also recommended that Italy take measures to prevent racist violence against Roma and Sinti people, and to ensure hate crimes against them are promptly investigated and prosecuted so that perpetrators do not enjoy de jure or de facto impunity.

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe recommended that Italy address potential inconsistent interpretation of aggravating circumstances provisions for bias-motivated crime through political leadership and awareness raising for all persons involved in the criminal justice system. He also expressed concerns about violence against Roma, noting that the bias motivation of these crimes is often downplayed by authorities, and encouraged better monitoring of hate crimes and ensuring bias motivation is part of the investigation and prosecution of such crimes.