Hazing in the Italian armed forces is a thing of the past, Military Prosecutor General Marco De Paolis said at the inauguration of the military judicial year on Friday.
The practice of ritual humiliation or abuse “has, fortunately, long ceased to affect our armed forces”, De Paolis said in his annual report.
“This year, too, no significant data (on hazing) has been reported in any of the Military Prosecution Offices,” he continued.
“This phenomenon, which was widespread in Italian barracks in the 1980s and 1990s, has now ceased to affect the armed forces,” said De Paolis.
Five years ago, in 2019, the prosecutor said the acts of bullying and violence that constitute so-called ‘hazing’ were now primarily against women soldiers.