Women

Rape and Domestic Violence: The legally prescribed penalty for rape, including spousal rape, is five to 12 years in prison. The law criminalizes the physical abuse of women (including by family members), provides for the prosecution of perpetrators of violence against women, and helps shield abused women from publicity. Judicial protective measures for violence occurring within a family allow for an ex parte application to a civil court judge in urgent cases. A specific law on stalking includes mandatory detention for acts of sexual violence, including by partners. Police officers and judicial authorities prosecuted perpetrators of violence against women, but survivors frequently declined to press charges due to fear, shame, or ignorance of the law.

Between January and July, 44 women were killed by their domestic partners. On July 22, a man killed his wife and then committed suicide in Caserta. In 2017 the woman had reported her husband to authorities for mistreatment but later withdrew her complaint.

The Department of Equal Opportunity operated a hotline for victims of violence seeking immediate assistance and temporary shelter. It also operated a hotline for victims of stalking. Authorities reported a 53-percent increase in calls to a governmental hotline regarding cases of violence and abuse between January and June, compared with the same period of 2017.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): FGM/C was a problem in some immigrant communities. It is a crime punishable by up to 12 years’ imprisonment. Experts estimated between 60,000 and 81,000 women, especially Nigerian and Egyptian, were victims of genital mutilation. Most of the mutilations were performed outside the country. The Department for Equal Opportunities operated a hotline for victims and other affected parties who requested the support of authorities and NGOs.

Sexual Harassment: Minor cases of verbal sexual harassment in public are punishable by up to six months’ incarceration and a fine of up to 516 euros ($593). The government effectively enforced the law. By government decree, emotional abuse based on gender discrimination is a crime. Police investigated reports of harassment submitted to authorities.

Coercion in Population Control: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization.

Discrimination: Women have the same legal status and rights as men. They do experience discrimination, but the government enforced laws prohibiting every form of discrimination in all sectors.

Children

Birth Registration: A child acquires citizenship automatically when the parents are citizens, when the parents of children born in the country’s territory are unknown or stateless, or when the parents are foreigners whose countries of origin do not recognize the citizenship of their children born abroad. Citizenship is also granted if a child is abandoned in the country and in cases of adoption. Local authorities required immediate birth registration.

Child Abuse: Sexual abuses against minors are punished with six to 12 years in prison. The government implemented prevention programs in schools and promptly investigated complaints and punished perpetrators. Telefono Azzurro, an NGO that advocates for children’s rights, reported a 7-percent increase in reports of child abuse submitted in 2017 compared with the previous year. Approximately 5,600 persons, mostly teenagers, contacted its help center through social media.

Early and Forced Marriage: The minimum age for marriage is 18, but juvenile courts may authorize marriages for individuals as young as 16. According to NGOs, hundreds of women were victims of forced marriages.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: Authorities enforced the laws prohibiting sexual exploitation, the sale of children, offering or procuring a child for prostitution, and practices related to child pornography. Independent observers and the government estimated at least 6,000 foreign minors were victims of sexual exploitation. According to the Department of Equal Opportunity, the number of assisted minor victims of trafficking increased from 82 in 2016 to 199 in 2017.

There were reports of child pornography. On July 6, postal police announced the arrest of two persons and an investigation into another 12 individuals from different cities throughout the country suspected of having established a network on Facebook to exchange video and photos of abused children. The investigation continued at year’s end.

On July 26, Save the Children Italy reported testimonies of some migrant children who had been victims of sexual exploitation by smugglers who had helped them to cross the border with France or provided food and temporary accommodation.

The minimum age for consensual sex varies from 13 to 16, based on the relationship between partners.

Displaced Children: The Ministry of the Interior reported that, between August 2017 and July, 6,042 unaccompanied minors arrived in the country, representing approximately one-fourth of those registered in the two-year period that ended in July.

International Child Abductions: The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data.html.

Anti-Semitism

There were approximately 30,000 Jews in the country. The law criminalizes the public display of the fascist stiff-armed Roman salute and the sale or display of fascist or Nazi memorabilia. Violations can bring prison terms of six months to two years, with an additional eight months if those goods are sold online. On October 23, Milan judges indicted four leaders of the far-right association Loyalty and Action for supporting fascism by exhibiting symbols and chanting fascist slogans during a 2016 parade in Milan.

Anti-Semitic societal prejudices persisted. Some extremist fringe groups were responsible for anti-Semitic remarks and actions, including vandalism and publication of anti-Semitic material on the internet. The Observatory on Anti-Semitism of the Foundation Jewish Contemporary Documentation Center (the Center) reported 163 anti-Semitic incidents between January and November 5, but no violent assaults.

Internet hate speech and bullying were the most common forms of anti-Semitic attacks, according to the center. Between January and November 5, the center reported 109 cases of insults on the internet and 11 cases of graffiti or vandalism against Jewish residents. Most episodes occurred during Jewish holidays or celebrations.

Anti-Semitic slogans and graffiti appeared in some cities, including Rome, Milan, and Turin. On January 25, authorities discovered a “Stolperstein” commemorating victims of the Holocaust dislodged and damaged in Florence. Some commemorative plaques and markers in other cities were stolen.

On June 12, police opened an investigation into an incident in San Maurizio Canavese (Piedmont) in which a barbershop owned by a Jewish citizen was spray-painted with the words “this is a Jewish shop.” A car was also set on fire near the vandalized shop.

More than 2,000 police officers guarded synagogues and other Jewish community sites in the country.

Trafficking in Persons

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/.

Persons with Disabilities

The law protects the rights of persons with disabilities. The government enforced these provisions, but there were incidents of societal and employment discrimination. Although the law mandates access to government buildings and public transportation for persons with disabilities, physical barriers continued to pose challenges.

On March 25, police arrested 15 persons, including nurses, doctors, and a priest, accused of mistreating a group of persons with disabilities in a rehabilitation center in Venosa in the province of Potenza. The victims had scratches, bruises, and other signs of aggravated violence on their bodies.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Governmental and societal violence and discrimination against Roma, Sinti, Caminanti, and other ethnic minorities remained a problem. There were reports of discrimination in occupation and employment based on race or ethnicity (see section 7.d.).

The press and NGOs reported cases of incitement to hatred, violent attacks, forced evictions from unauthorized camps, and mistreatment by municipal authorities. On July 26, national and local police forcibly evacuated a Romani camp where more than 400 persons lived in containers provided by the city of Rome. The city established the camp in 2005 to host Romani families coming mainly from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Romania. NGOs and other government ministers criticized Interior Minister Salvini for his announcement in June that he planned to conduct a “census” of the Romani community and that he would take steps to expel noncitizen Roma, commenting that “unfortunately we have to keep Italian Roma here at home.”

According to the NGO Associazione 21 Luglio, in 2017 housing remained a serious concern for the country’s 28,000 Roma, most of whom came from Balkan countries. A total of 18,000 persons lived in approximately 150 authorized camps, and another 10,000, many of whom were Romanian and Bulgarian, lived in informal encampments, mainly in the Latium and Campania regions.

On July 26, Rome municipal authorities and police cleared the “Camping River” site, the largest informal Romani camp in the capital, citing reasons of public health and protection of minors. Most of those living in the camp refused alternative housing proposed by authorities because they wanted to remain close to relatives and members of their clans. Some of them established unauthorized encampments in public parks.

On July 18, the European Roma Rights Center objected to Interior Minister Salvini’s statements calling for a “mass cleansing street-by-street, piazza-by-piazza, neighborhood-by-neighborhood.”

On August 17, 10 North African migrants forced their way into a Romani camp in Pisa and assaulted a member of the local community.

Acts of Violence, Discrimination, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

The law prohibits discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons in housing, employment, nationality laws, and access to government services. NGOs advocating for LGBTI rights reported instances of societal violence, discrimination, and hate speech.

The press reported isolated cases of violence against gay and lesbian couples during the year. On August 22, the NGO Gay Center Rome reported that three persons attacked and injured a gay man in Rome after having asked him if he was homosexual. The case remained under investigation at year’s end.