Country

Italy

Detention issue

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Law No. 354/1975 (Legge 26 luglio 1975, n. 354, Norme sull’ordinamento penitenziario e sulla esecuzione delle misure privative e limitative della libertà)Penitentiary treatment must respect human dignity: it must be compliant with the principles of impartiality, without discriminations based on sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, nationality, economic and social conditions, political opinions, religious beliefs. The distribution of detainees who are at risk of violence from the other detainees on grounds of their gender identity and/or sexual orientation, must be carried out following homogeneous categories on the entire national territory, upon consent of the detainees who are, otherwise, distributed among ordinary prison wards.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2016The National Guarantor released an opinion recommending public authorities to prevent and tackle discriminations targeting LGB detainees (defined in the opinion as “homosexual”). According to the authority, the decision of setting up separated sections for gay detainees to protect them from violence, thus isolating them and preventing them from participating in common activities, is a violation of their rights. Protecting homosexual detainees who report being at risk of violence cannot mean isolating them from the activities available in the detention facility. Report details