Italy

OSCAD has joined the European project F.A.D.E (Fight Against Antisemitism through training and awareness raising activities), the main objective of which is to improve the ability of public authorities to identify, prosecute and condemn incidents of discrimination and anti-Semitic hatred in a timely and effective manner. The project is implemented jointly with the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the National Antidiscrimination Racial Office – UNAR, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI), the Foundation Jewish Contemporary Documentation Center (CDEC), and Reflect – the Research Evaluation Training Technical Assistance S.R.L.

In 2023, OSCAD also took part in awareness-raising efforts through a series of events on “Victims of Hate”, held in various Italian cities, including Milan and San Marino.

In February 2023, OSCAD participated in a project on “Combating Hate Speech in Sport” in co-operation with the Department for Sport of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe.

In June 2023, the Minister of the Interior signed a “Declaration of Intent on the fight against anti-Semitism in football” jointly with the National Coordinator for the fight against anti-Semitism, the Italian Football Federation, the National Professional League Serie A, the National Professional League Serie B, the Italian Professional Football League, the National Amateur League, and its members.        
""In 2023, OSCAD contributed to a report on prejudice and violence against disabled women by the Criminal Analysis Service of the Central Criminal Police Directorate.  The report followed on from an OSCAD publication launched in 2022 on “Violence against women with disabilities".

In 2023, new provisions were introduced to Law no. 168 of 24 November 2023 on ‘combating violence against women and domestic violence’. In line with the Istanbul Convention and rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, these new provisions developed and strengthened instruments to prevent and combat violence against women. The instruments cover the full cycle of crime, starting with prevention measures focused on abusers, the procedural phase, the investigation and precautionary phases, to the provision of harsher and more effective sanctions, while also including instruments to prevent recidivism and re-socialize the perpetrator.  

Further, new allocations were made in the national budget for training initiatives on combating gender-based violence, measures to prevent victimization (such as shelters and anti-violence centres), and mechanisms to support the employment of women victims.

Notable cases:

In Foggia, 30 individuals and staff members at a psychiatric institution were sentenced for their roles in violence committed against persons with disabilities living in care. The suspects were charged with the aggravating circumstance of a crime committed against victims with disabilities.