The dispute centers on a rule requiring tattoos to be invisible while wearing a ceremonial uniform. Because female officers are expected to wear skirts, a candidate with a calf tattoo was automatically disqualified. Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta noted that the same candidate would have faced no such barrier had she been a man, rendering the combination of aesthetic standards and gender-specific attire inherently exclusionary.
EU Court Faults Italian Police Over Discriminatory Tattoo Policy
A small flower tattoo on a female applicant’s calf became the focal point of a legal battle against Italy’s state police, as the European Court of Justice found that rigid uniform requirements—specifically the mandate for women to wear skirts—constitute gender-based discrimination in the recruitment process.
While EU law allows for gender-based distinctions when they represent a genuine occupational requirement, the court determined that skirt-based uniforms fail to meet this threshold. Felice Romano, secretary general of the SIULP police union, labeled the policy a cultural absurdity. He argued that the force must abandon its outdated intolerance for body art, particularly as more than one-in-10 Italians now have tattoos. As other member states like Germany, Ireland, and Spain modernize their appearance criteria to boost female participation in male-dominated sectors, the Italian force remains tethered to traditional aesthetics. A final ruling from the court is expected to follow this initial opinion.
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