The Court of Justice of the European Union has found in an opinion that the Italian police have engaged in gender-based discrimination in their recruitment process, after the rejection of a female applicant.
Around 15 percent of the Italian police corps is made up of women, but tradition still prevails in manner of aesthetics: tattoos must be hidden by one’s dress, while ceremonial uniforms provide for women to wear skirts.
This procedure prevented the continuation of a female applicant’s bid to join the state police force due to a small flower tattoo on her upper calf, which would have become visible had she been wearing the police dress uniform.
The applicant took the police rulebook to court. On Thursday (3 September), the EU’s advocate general in the Luxembourg court spoke in her favour.
“Ms HG would not have been excluded from the selection procedure on the sole ground that she has a tattoo on her calf had she been a man,” said EU court advocate general Tamara Ćapeta in her opinion.
