Italy: racist and xenophobic crimes by type 2022

Crimes that involve racism and xenophobia were far from uncommon in Italy. In 2022, 1,105 crimes were perpetrated for racist and xenophobic reasons. With around 280 cases, most of these crimes were classified as incitement to violence. However, many other forms of crimes were also filed. During that year, 216 threats and almost 180 peace disturbance actions were notably perpetrated under racist or xenophobic pretenses.

Hate crimes in Italy

From a larger perspective, racist and xenophobic crimes fall under the hate crime classification. Such crimes were on the rise in Italy. In 2020 over a thousand hate crimes were notably registered by the police. As for racist and xenophobic crimes, the most common type of hate crime was incitement to violence. In 2020, over 300 cases of incitement to violence were filed by the Italian police.

Different motivations behind hate crimes

In 2020, most hate crimes were motivated by one’s skin color or origin. However, crimes under the bias of disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity are also classified as hate crimes. In 2020, almost 200 crimes against disabled people were registered by the police. The most common type of criminal acts directed at this minority was physical assault, followed by theft and robbery. During that year, 71 hate crimes were committed because of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. However, hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community in Italy most frequently involved physical assault. Ultimately, although such criminal figures solely represent reported crimes, an increase in reported hate crimes is undeniable.

Number of racist and xenophobic crimes recorded by the police in Italy in 2022, by type

Characteristic	Number of crimes
Incitement to violence	276
Threats/threatening behaviour	216
Disturbance of the peace	179
Desecration of graves	156
Physical assault	94
Attacks against places of worship	54
Damage to property	43
Theft/robbery	38
Vandalism	19
Arson	3
Sexual assault	1
Unspecified	26

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Release date

2023

More information

Region

Italy

Survey time period

2022

Supplementary notes

Release date set as last date of access.

The source adds the following information: "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 color; ethnicity; nationality; language; anti-Semitism; bias against Roma and Sinti; bias against Muslims; 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."

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