Italian Court Rules To Stop Public Crotch-Scratching

The Italian supreme court has outlawed men from touching their genitals in public.

Crotch-grabbing is an ancient superstitious habit in Italy that is believed to ward off the evil eye - it is traditional for men to do it if passed by a hearse or when discussing serious illness or disasters.

However, the supreme court ruled that an unnamed 42-year-old man from Como had broken the law by "ostentatiously touching his genitals through his clothing".

His lawyers said he had a "compulsive, involuntary movement" because of uncomfortable overalls. But the court said his behaviour was an "act contrary to public decency" and that the rules "require everyone to abstain from conduct that is potentially offensive to collectively held feelings of decorum".

The judges said that if men needed to grab their crotches, they should wait until they were not being watched or in the privacy of their own home.

Some Italians carry a "corno", an amulet in the shape of a horn, to ward off evil and an alternative to the crotch grab is to make a sign of the horns with the first and fourth fingers.

The man has been fined 200 Eurors and ordered to pay 1,000 more in costs.

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