National Analytical Study on Racist Violence and Crime

RAXEN Focal Point for ITALY

de Annamaria Rivera Collaboration: Paola Andrisani

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The present report, like the former Analytical Study on discrimination and racist violence (2000-2002) is based on the theoretical supposition that “races” do not exist but rather human groups which are “racialised”, that is, socially considered and treated as “races”1.

In our opinion, racism is part of a process of social classification so that some groups (migrants, refugees, minority groups) are perceived and labelled as different or radically different from the group which the advocates and/or perpetrators of racism belong to.

Anyone belonging to a minority group and/or at a disadvantage from an economic, legal, social, religious point of view, can be racialised and become a victim of racism, independently of the phenotypical objective differences, and without great cultural differences. This is why, also in this report, we prefer to speak of racist instead of “racial”2 violence and crimes.

The report is, therefore, based on a well defined theory of racism3, without which, as weshall explain later, it is impossible to clearly distinguish the expressions of discrimination and racist violence and counter them efficiently. This is why we have dedicated a lot of space to the definitions of terms and key concepts (see par. 3). The space reserved to the gap analysis is equally extensive: what makes the Italian context unusual, is the lack of systematic surveys, constant monitoring and consequently, quantitative and qualitative data concerning discrimination, violence and racist crimes. Later, we shall point out that in our opinion, this deficiency is a sign of the underestimation of the phenomenon (also and especially by the government and more generally by the institutions); and this is, in itself, a cultural and political factor to be added to the analysis.

As far as we know, during the period under examination, no group of data and no report on a national level have been published on the subject of racist violence and crimes except for one research4. To compensate for the lack of reports and reliable quantitative data, we have directly carried out a small investigation, both by interviewing professionals who deal regularly with the defence of the rights of migrants and ethnic minorities and by examining a certain number of daily newspapers. From the latter and the aforementioned research, we have taken a number of cases which we considered a sample and which we have analysed extracting some information on the offenders and the victims of racist violence and to the places in which it usually took place.

Much space has been reserved to a general view of the extreme right wing organisations and populist xenophobic parties, as we feel that this can throw light on the characteristics of those we have defined as the “political actors of xenophobia and racism”.

We have also dedicated a great deal of space to the analysis of the Italian legislation on racist crimes, to show that it would be sufficient to prosecute effectively and adequately racist type violence.

Lastly, in the documents enclosed, which form a consistent part of this report, we have included: a description of the number and composition of immigrants and ethnic minorities; a general glimpse of the current legislation and policies on the subject of immigration and integration.

The conclusions we have reached are the following:

• The individuals and groups most exposed to racist violence, a category which
also includes verbal and symbolic expressions, are: foreign citizens from third countries (migrants and refugees), especially those practising the Muslim religion; Roma and Sinti gypsies; Jews.

• Among the offenders of racist acts of violence, symbolic/verbal or physical,
are included: individuals and groups from different extreme right trends;
ordinary citizens or unidentified individuals/groups; militants of the Northern League including members of the government and of local, national, EU
institutions; public officials and especially representatives of the different
police forces.

The racist acts of aggression can be indirectly encouraged by the legislation on immigration and by a social and cultural context which does not facilitate the integration of migrants, refugees and ethnic minorities or guarantee them the enjoyment of fundamental rights.

These acts of aggression are directly encouraged by:

• the active xenophobic propaganda carried out firstly by the Northern League
and also by political currents of the extreme right wing, propaganda,
insufficiently countered and even justified, by members of the central
government;

• the intolerance towards migrants, refugees, gypsies, increased or exploited bysome media (television and press), political forces, some members of the
institutions.
In the Italian context, which continues to be disturbing - if only because the main political actors of xenophobia are members of the central government - one positive element exists consisting of a large variety of subjects (trade unions, anti-racist movements, associations, both lay and religious, for the defence of the rights of foreign citizens and ethnic minorities) who carry out a vital activity of condemnation of and opposition to discrimination and racism.
The work of these subjects deserves to be encouraged and sustained as it represents one of the most important and efficient bulwarks against xenophobia and racism.

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1 See Par. 3: “Glossary and definitions of some terms and key concepts”.

2 Since the specific subject of this report is violence and racist crimes, we have left discrimination in the background. However, we are aware that one cannot make a sharp distinction between the former category and the latter: a cumulative, systematic discrimination against vulnerable groups can be considered a form of violence often motivated by prejudice or contempt towards them.

3 Among the numerous contributions to the theory of racism, we have mainly referred to: Montagu, M.F.A. (1942) Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race, New York: Columbia University Press; Guillaumin, C. (1972) L’idéologie raciste. Genèse et langage actuel, Paris-La Haye: Mouton; Rex, J., Race, Colonialism and the City, London: Routledge and Kegan; Gallissot, R. (1985) Misère de l’antiracisme, Paris: Editions de l’Arcantère; Taguieff, P.-A. (1987) La force du préjugé. Essai sur le racisme et ses doubles, Paris: La Découverte; Burgio, A. (1998) L’invenzione delle razze. Studi su razzismo e revisionismo storico, Rome: manifestolibri; Gallissot R., Kilani M., Rivera A. (2001) L’imbroglio etnico, in quattordici parole-chiave, Bari: Dedalo.

4 Rivera, A. (2003) Estranei e nemici. Discriminazione e violenza razzista in Italia (with Inventario dell’intolleranza by P. Andrisani, Rome: DeriveApprodi.