The data include both substantive offences and aggravated crimes that involve an increased penalty.
The data may be subject to subsequent updates after the OSCAD cases now under consideration have been defined.
Police data include information taken from the police database (SDI) and information gathered by the Observatory for Security against Acts of Discrimination (OSCAD). The breakdown below consists of: (i) SDI data covering the following bias motivations: "race"/skin colour; ethnicity; nationality; language; anti-Semitism; bias against Roma and Sinti; bias against Muslims; anti-Christian bias, and bias against members of other religions; and (ii) OSCAD data on hate crimes motivated by bias against "sexual orientation and transgender identity" and bias against disability. Due to the separate recording systems used by the police and by OSCAD, the data registered by OSCAD might not be present in the police database (SDI).
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.
This category includes crimes registered in the SDI database and committed on the grounds of 'race'/skin colour, ethnicity, bias against Roma and Sinti, nationality, language, anti-Semitism, bias against Muslims, bias against Christians and bias against members of other religions.
This information is based on reports received by the Observatory for Security against Acts of Discrimination (OSCAD). Incidents included in the categories of sexual orientation (64) and gender identity (6) were reported to ODIHR separately but are presented together here.
This information is based on reports received by the Observatory for Security against Acts of Discrimination (OSCAD) and included in the SDI database.
ODIHR recognizes Italy’s efforts to report its hate crime information and data to ODIHR. However, based on the available information, it observes that since 2018, Italy has not reported data on hate crimes recorded by the prosecution and judiciary. In addition, ODIHR observes that Italy would benefit from reviewing its existing legal framework in order to ensure that bias motivations can be effectively acknowledged, and appropriate penalties can be imposed on the perpetrators.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States committed to collecting reliable data and statistics in sufficient detail on hate crimes and to reporting such crimes periodically to ODIHR. Participating States also committed to enacting specific, tailored legislation to combat hate crimes, providing for effective penalties that take into account the gravity of such crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Italy in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further resources and tailored legislative advice.
🛈 Please note that the total number of incidents may be lower than the sum of incidents presented in the breakdown chart above, as some incidents involve multiple bias motivations.
🛈 ODIHR no longer presents descriptions of property attacks in the incident tables below. Data on property attacks are presented in the breakdown charts above. One property attack may target multiple properties or involve multiple types of attack.