During the last five years, attacks against health workers increased by 38 percentage points in this country, and 80% of the cases were directed against women, according to a report presented by the Association of Doctors of Foreign Origin in Italy (AMSI), published on the website of the daily Il Sole 24 Ore.

There was also a 35% increase in discriminatory acts against health professionals of foreign origin who, for that reason, preferred to move to Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, or the United Kingdom after their first years in this European nation, AMSI notes.

The Italian government recently approved new measures to protect hospital staff as part of the new Decree-Law on Security, where penalties against aggressors are increased.

It provides for mandatory detention within 48 hours of the fact, for those who commit such acts of violence against health workers or damage medical facilities, with a prison sentence of one to five years and fines of up to 10,000 euros.

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