Italy’s (Surprising) Use of Racial Harassment Provisions as a Means of Fighting Discrimination

This chapter analyses Italian case law on racial harassment in the employment context but also beyond. NGOs, in particular, are using this new tool to fight against race discrimination. In a legal system which is not necessarily known for being at the forefront of anti-discrimination law, such a success may seem surprising. I argue that, at least in Italy, the prohibition on racial harassment has the advantage of overcoming pre-existing limitations of fighting racism via criminal law for certain cases. Moreover, the definition of harassment as derived from the EU anti-discrimination law directives avoids some of the interpretational difficulties related to direct and indirect discrimination. Thus, the case law analysed here could set an example beyond the national borders and also shed more light on a concept which has so far been flying under the radar in European anti-discrimination law.