Children of Italy

Realizing Children’s Rights in Italy

Italy boasts a robust framework for child protection and development, deriving legitimacy from a long history of functioning national institutions. The country has also ratified all major international legal frameworks for the protection of children’s rights. Despite this, further progress is still required to improve children’s school attendance and performance, strengthen national resilience to child exploitation and abuse, and protect children who would otherwise be de facto stateless.

Italy at a glance

Italy, officially known as Italia or Repubblica Italiana, is a south-central European country located on a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea. It shares its northern border with the Alps, which separate Italy from France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Italy is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, with the Adriatic Sea to the northeast, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, the Tyrrhenian Sea to the southwest and the Ligurian Sea to the northwest (Signoretta et al, 2025).

Italy’s history is profoundly marked by its role as the centre of the Roman Empire. Rome, the country’s capital, is one of the world’s oldest cities and is renowned for its ancient monuments and cultural landmarks. These reflect its historical significance as the centre of the Roman Empire. Ancient monuments in Rome include the Colosseum, the Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Trevi Fountain, Castel Sant’Angelo, the Spanish Steps, and the Vatican Museums, which house masterpieces by Michelangelo. Other major cities in Italy include Milan, the fashion and business hub, Naples, Genoa, the historic maritime port, Venice, known for its canal system, Pisa, known for the famous leaning tower and the Amalfi coast (Signoretta et al, 2025).

The physical geography of Italy is highly diverse and has played a large role in shaping its settlement patterns, economic activity and regional disparities. Along the northern border, the country is dominated by the Alps, which form a natural barrier with the rest of Europe and include some of Europe’s highest peaks, such as Mont Blanc. Italy’s two largest islands are Sicily and Sardinia. Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, is home to one of the most active volcanoes in the world, Mount Etna (Signoretta et al, 2025).

Status of children’s rights [1]

Italy has committed to numerous international instruments for the protection of children’s rights. In 1991, the government ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Italy is also party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), ratified in 1985; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, ratified in 1976; and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ratified in 1978. 

The government ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in 2002. The government also ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (ILO, No. 182) in 2000.

Addressing the needs of children

Right to education

In Italy, the right to education is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Merit (Ministero dell’istruzione e del merito – MIM). Their main role is to oversee national education policy, school staff, quality assurance, financial resources and minimum standards of education.

The right to education is constitutionally guaranteed under Article 34, which ensures access to education for all and establishes compulsory and free schooling. At a local level, local authorities are responsible for maintaining school grounds and providing transportation to children from early childhood education and care (ECEC) to upper secondary school (European Commission, 2024).

The structure of formal education in Italy consists of the following (European Commission, 2024):

• Early childhood education and care (ECEC)
  • Educational services for childhood (Servizi educative per l’infanzia) ­– for children aged 0-3 years old. However, this is not compulsory. It is run by municipalities and private providers, where the main focus is early child care, socialization and basic developmental skills.
  • Preschool and kindergarten (Scuola dell’infanzi) – for children aged 3-6 years old. This is not compulsory, but approximately 90% of children attend. It is free in public institutions; however, small fees are charged for school meals and activities. This stage of schooling prepares children for primary school through play-based learning.
• Primary education (Scuola primaria) – for children aged 6-11 years old. This is compulsory and free.
• Secondary education
  • Lower secondary education (Scuola secondaria di primo grado) – for children aged 11-14 years old. This is compulsory, and to progress to upper secondary, students are required to pass a national exam (Esame di terza media).
  • Upper secondary education (Scuola secondaria di secondo grado) – for children aged 14-19 years old. This is only compulsory until age 16. Once students reach the age of 16, they can choose from 3 academic pathways, which last for 5 years. These include: (1) academic schools (liceo), (2) technical institutes (istituti tecnici), (3) vocational institutes (isituti professionali).

Despite a seemingly solid educational framework, Italy has one of the highest school dropout rates in Europe, and Italian students have the lowest school performance rates in Europe. In 2023, analysis by the Study Center of the Fondazione Articolo 49 found that the school dropout rate in Italy was 10.5%, exceeding the European Union’s (EU) target of 9%. The highest rates of school dropouts were found in Sardinia at 17.3%, affecting approximately 1 in 5 students (Global education time, 2025).

Recent data from the Italian National Statistical Institute (Instituto nazionale di statistica), indicate that the school dropout rates for boys remain higher at 13.1%, in comparison to 7.6% of girls, with the highest male dropout rates observed in Sardinia (23.4%). There are regional inequalities in terms of education, with the northern regions of Italy achieving better academic results than students in the south. These inequalities are frequently attributed to unequal access to education and training (European Commission, 2025).

Right to health

The national health system in Italy, established in 1978, is known as Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SNN). Healthcare is publicly funded and covers all citizens and legal foreign residents. Children benefit from specific provisions designed to reduce financial and access barriers, such as dental care for children up to the age of 16.

Cost-sharing is waived for children under the age of 6, irrespective of household income and for older children from lower-income households. This means that routine outpatient services, preventive care and specialist visits can be accessed with minimal or no out-of-pocket payments.

All children must be registered with a general practitioner, who supports their care from birth through to adolescence. Although families may still face fees for certain outpatient services and medications not being fully covered under the SNN, these charges are capped by national law and children are often exempt (Tikkanen, 2020).

Since 1998, all undocumented immigrants have been able to access urgent and essential medical services. While migrant and refugee children are legally entitled to basic and emergency health services, socio-economic barriers limit their access to routine care. The SNN operates as a decentralised public system, comprising the Ministry of Health and other national-level bodies and institutions (Tikkanen, 2020). 

Right to clean water and sanitation

According to the 2023 WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, 99% of schools in Italy have access to basic water services (UNICEF, 2024).

Italy also prioritises clean water and sanitation in its international development efforts. In 2022, the Italian government, with the support of the United Nations, committed €2.5 million EUR to Homs, Syria. This contribution will go towards supporting children and families in accessing clean water, adequate irrigation, water storage facilities, rehabilitation of wells, pumping stations and water treatment plants and increasing awareness on menstrual health and access to hygiene products (UNICEF Syrian Arab Republic, 2022). In 2024, in partnership with UNICEF Libya, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) contributed €3 million EUR to the improvement of climate-resistant water and sanitation services across Libya. The project is expected to benefit approximately 1 million people, including 70,000 children in Libya (UNICEF Libya, 2024).

Right to identity

In Italy, children’s right to identity is enshrined and protected under constitutional and civil law, as well as through international human rights. At a national level, the Italian Constitution, particularly Article 2 and Article 30, safeguard inalienable rights and places special protections on children and family relations; while the Civil Code regulates birth registration, filiation and parental responsibility.

Birth registration is compulsory for all children born in Italy, including those born to migrant and undocumented parents. This ensures access to health care, education, and other essential services. A child must be registered at the registry office (ufficio di stato civile) within 10 days of birth, in the town where the child is born or where the family is resident. Two types of birth certificates are issued in Italy: (1) Certificato di nascita (birth certificate) and (2) Copia integrale atti di nascita (acts of birth) (HM Passport Office, 2025).

Under Law No. 91/1992, Italy’s citizenship framework is primarily based on jus sanguinis (acquiring citizenship by descent). While nationality is based on jus sanguinis, the lack of Italian citizenship does not prevent a child from being registered at birth or accessing fundamental rights. However, practical challenges arise from children born to foreign parents, stateless children or children of irregular migrants (HM Passport Office, 2025).

Risk factors ––> Country-specific challenges

Poverty

According to the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), in 2022, there were approximately 13.4% of children living in absolute poverty, the highest rate recorded since 2005, and 23.5% of children living in relative poverty (EuroChild, 2023). Additionally, as of 2024, 27.1% of children are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Despite this number being high, the percentage of children living in poverty has dropped from 28.9% in 2020, 29.7% in 2021, 28.5% in 2022 and 27.1% in 2023 (Eurostat, 2025).

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, some children have experienced educational poverty, meaning they lacked dedicated space within their homes to study, did not have access to digital devices, or were unable to afford a reliable internet connection (EuroChild, 2022).  In 2021, a study conducted by ActionAid found that approximately 6 million people in Italy experienced food poverty, of which 200,000 children were below the age of 16 years and 12% of children aged 16 years and older (ActionAid, 2023).

Child abuse and sexual exploitation

In Italy, child abuse and sexual exploitation remain a serious and widespread problem. Although Italy has ratified relevant international standards such as the Lanzarote Convention and adopted national plans to prevent and combat child sexual abuse and exploitation, available data indicate that children remain unprotected, and many cases go unreported or undetected.

In 2021, the Italian Ministry of Interior indicated that there had been a total of 2,285 reported cases of crimes committed against children, of which 681 were cases of sexual violence, 624 cases of child solicitation, 589 cases of aggravated sexual violence and 391 cases of sexual acts with children.

Additionally, these statistics were further corroborated by data obtained from two main service operators between 2022-2023: (1) Telefono Azzurro, Linea di Ascolto e Consulenza (Listening and Counselling) 1.96.96 helpline and (2) Servizio Emergenza Infanzia (114 Childhood Emergency Service) emergency hotline (promoted by the Department for Family Policies). These services record harmful situations that involve children, including online and in-person child sexual abuse (ECPAT, 2024).

Telefono Azzurro, Linea di Ascolto e Consulenza responded to 46 cases of in-person sexual abuse in 2022, of which 54 children were victims (88%), 10% were involved as witnesses and 2% were offenders. Further, 73% of these children were girls, 25% boys, 2% identified as non-binary. Of these cases, 20% involved children below the age of 10, 43% involved children between the ages of 11 and 14 years old, and 37% involved children between the ages of 15 and 18 years old. In 2023, Telefono Azzurro, Linea di Ascolto e Consulenza responded to 12 helpline cases of in-person sexual abuse. Similarly, in 2022, Servizio Emergenza Infanzia handled 138 cases of in-person sexual abuse, involving 180 children as victims (90%), 9% as offenders and 1% as witnesses (ECPAT, 2024).

Save the Children reported that many girls who were sexually exploited through trafficking were of Nigerian origin, with an increasing number of girls also from the Ivory Coast and Eastern Europe, particularly Bulgaria, Albania and Romania. Unaccompanied girls between the ages of 14-17 years old from the Ivory Coast had been intercepted at the Italy-France border, with Italy being their point of transit. Most of the data collected on the sexual exploitation of children in prostitution is predominantly of migrant or refugee children, with limited information on Italian nationals (ECPAT, 2024).  

Data collected by the Italian Ministry of Interior indicate that in 2020, 495 males were victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation, in comparison to 2,202 female victims. Despite the number of male victims being significantly lower than that of females, research indicates that there is a lack of services and understanding among service providers. Between 2018 and 2020, the Italian Ministry of Interior indicated a gradual increase in the number of young boys seeking support from emergency helplines, with 668 boys in 2018, 834 boys in 2019 and 887 boys in 2020. Most of the data available on the sexual exploitation of boys refers to refugee and migrant boys who are travelling from the central Mediterranean route to Europe (ECPAT, 2024).

Child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church

In 2014, Pope Francis established the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. This commission was established to advise Pope Francis on protecting minors from sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, proposing best practices, supporting victims and working to safeguard and advocate for systemic reform.

Since its establishment, the Commission has produced two reports. However, these reports do not explicitly discuss incidences of abuse within the Church but rather highlight the shift from silence and secrecy to reparations, structural reforms and improving child protection across dioceses (Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, 2024). 

In 2024, Rete l’Abuso,[2] Italy’s largest church abuse victims’ group, released a report indicating that approximately 4,400 people had been abused within the Catholic Church in Italy. Within this report, it highlighted that there were 1,250 suspected cases of abuse, some with multiple victims, of which 1,106 cases were allegedly committed by priests, and the rest of the cases were allegedly committed by nuns, religion teachers, educators and scout members (Armellini, 2025).

In November 2022, the Italian Bishops’ Conference published a report on child abuse cases committed by the clergy of the Catholic Church in Italy. According to the report, between 2020-2021, 89 victims reported cases of alleged sexual abuse, with 37.1% of victims between the ages of 15-18 years old and 31.5% between the ages of 10-14 years old (ECPAT, 2024). This data was collected from listening centres that were established by dioceses across Italy in 2019. These centres were specifically established to receive complaints of sexual abuse by the Catholic Church. This report is one of the first ever inquiries into the abuse, and it found that 68 allegations were made against suspected abusers (Giuffrida, 2022).

Online child abuse

Child sexual abuse and exploitation represent a growing and alarming concern in Italy. Data collected by the Italian National Statistics Institute in 2022 reported that for children between the ages of 15-17 years old, 97.9% were internet users with 92.8% accessing the internet daily. Additionally, in 2022, Telefono Azzurro, Linea di Ascolto e Consulenza received 27 cases of online sexual abuse, of which 29 children were involved as offenders (peer-to-peer abuse), with 55.6% of them being female victims, 40.7% being male and 3.7% identified as non-binary.

Similarly, Servizio Emergenza Infanzia received 64 cases of online sexual abuse in 2022, with 90% of those cases involving children, with 58% of the victims being female, 42% being male. These cases involved young children, with 16% of cases involving children below the age of 10 years old, 36% of children between the ages of 11-14 years old and 48% of cases involving children between the ages of 15-18 years old (ECPAT, 2024).

Across both Servizio Emergenza Infanzia and Telefono Azzurro, Linea di Ascolto e Consulenza, it was identified that the main issues regarding child online abuse included sexting, online grooming, child sexual abuse material, sexual harassment and sexual extortion.

In 2020, the Italian Postal Police underwent an investigation across 53 provinces and 18 Italian regions, which led to the identification of 432 users who were a part of online chat groups on WhatsApp and Telegram where child sexual abuse materials were exchanged. Additionally, in 2022, the Italian Postal Police, alongside the National Centre for Combating Online Child Pornography, investigated 4,542 cases of online sexual exploitation and grooming of children. This investigation resulted in the arrest of 149 people (ECPAT, 2024).

Children with disabilities

Children with disabilities face significant barriers to accessing health care and support services, with these challenges being further compounded by regional disparities between the north and south of Italy. According to research conducted by Instituto Catteneo, in collaboration with UNICEF Italy and the Health Programme of the European Union, hospitals in Italy lack tailored access and infrastructure for people with disabilities, with the situation particularly acute in southern regions. The study indicated that 6.5% of clinics in the south provide specific health pathways for people with disabilities in comparison to 29% of clinics in the north (UNICEF, 2022).

Research conducted by the Serafico Institute of Assisi, highlights that 36.7% of hospitals lack accessible physical infrastructure, 49.8% of hospitals lack specific programmes for people with disabilities, particularly for rare conditions, and 63% of people often must travel outside of their region to access necessary treatment or have routine visits. Other inequities included cultural barriers and societal stigma, uneven distribution of trained personnel and varied access to early intervention and rehabilitation services (ANSA, 2022).

Displaced children

According to the Italian National Statistics Institute, as of January 2023, there were approximately 5 million foreign residents in Italy, with 157,652 people arriving by sea, of which 17,319 were unaccompanied migrant children. By December 2023, data collected by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies indicated that there were 23,226 unaccompanied children in Italy, of which 88.4% were boys and 11.6% were girls.

A large majority of these children were of Egyptian origin (20.1%), followed by Ukraine, Tunisia and the Gambia. Italy hosts a large population of refugees and migrants from countries such as Pakistan, Sudan, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Tunisia. Often, refugees, migrants, unaccompanied minors and Roma children are vulnerable to exploitation, at risk of trafficking, forced labour and/or begging (ECPAT, 2024).   

Children’s rights and surrogacy

Surrogacy arrangements in Italy reveal a significant gap between legal principles and implementation. Italian nationality law is based on jus sanguinis; therefore, Italian authorities refuse or delay the transcription of foreign birth certificates for children born through a surrogacy arrangement, potentially leaving these children unable to have legally recognised parents under Italian law.

Where the country of birth does not grant nationality by jus soli, and Italian citizenship is based on jus sanguinis, children find themselves de facto stateless for extended periods of time, despite having a clear and in some cases, a biological connection to an Italian parent.

On October 16^, 2024, Italy passed a law making it illegal for couples to go abroad and commission an international surrogate. This law has now made it a crime to commission an international surrogate, with penalties of up to €1 million EUR and a 2-year jail sentence. The denial of citizenship for children born through surrogacy has been presented under Article 8 of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

In the landmark cases of Paradiso and Campanelli v Italy, the intending parents were unsuccessful in challenging the Italian authorities on the removal of their nine-month old daughter born through a gestational surrogacy arrangement in Moscow in 2011. The intending parents had brought their child back to Italy and sought legal recognition of the Russian birth certificate; however, Italian authorities refused this on the basis that the intending parents did not share a biological link to the child.

The Italian court concluded that there was no legally recognised parent-child relationship under Italian law and ordered the child’s removal and placement for adoption. The refusal to register the birth certificate was upheld on public policy grounds, and a new birth certificate was issued listing the parents as unknown (CRIN, 2015).

This landmark case illustrates that intended parenthood alone, without biological or legally recognised ties, is insufficient to establish nationality claims under Italian law. It further demonstrates that in the absence of legally recognised filiation, children cannot rely on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to compel access to nationality through Italian intended parents (CRIN, 2015).

Written by Vanessa Cezarita Cordeiro

Internally proofread by Aditi Partha

Last updated on 17 December 2025

References:

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ANSA. (2022, December 1). “Italy lags behind in accessibility to disability care.” Retrieved from ANSA, accessed on 11 December 2025.

Armellini, A. (2025, October 24). “Almost 4,400 people abused by priests in Italy, victims’ group alleges.” Retrieved from Reuters, accessed on 8 December 2025.

Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2019, February 28). “Concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Italy.” Retrieved from United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, accessed on 4 December 2025.

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[1] This article by no means purports to give a full or representative account of children’s rights in Italy; indeed one of many challenges is the scant updated information on children in Italy, much of which is unreliable, not representative, outdated or simply non-existent.

[2] There are no official statistics on the number of victims and there is a lack of reliable data. The Commission is explicit about the fact that it is not an audit of the incidence of abuse because data collection remains uneven. Therefore, most data are collected by independent charities that work closely with victims, Rete l’Abuso being one of the largest.