The revenge porn desk is not open 24/7 in Italy

Since October 10, there has been a safe place to listen and confront for the more than 2 million victims of revenge porn, that crime regulated in law only in 2019 that was initially considered a form of goliardia. Called "Psychological First Aid," the 24/7, free support desk for all victims of non-consensual pornography episodes will be able to take advantage of 3 free meetings with a professional and then access a personalized counseling path to cope with both short-term and long-term psychological damage that certain events can create in the individual's intimacy. Social anxiety and general anxiety, depression phenomena, posttraumatic disorder, self-injurious acts and suicidal actions are some of the nuances that can emerge after an invasive episode at an intimate level, which can alter the boundaries of personal perception and the idea of the possession of one's social image, which is why PermessoNegato and Tconsulta two associations working in the area of countering nonconsensual pornography, have joined forces to create a tool that provides concrete help to victims. 

In Italy the phenomenon is extremely widespread and on the rise, without distinction of gender: there are about 2 million victims, 70% women and 30% men of whom 13% are members of the LGBTQIA+ community who experience on their skin the appropriation of their intimate photos and the dissemination of them in more or less public ways, which may end up in chats created specifically to exchange photos of unsuspecting individuals or even worse in pornographic circles. Despite its wide diffusion, 4 percent of Italians have been victims of it and 9 percent know someone who has gone through this negative and disturbing experience, a worrying 17 percent of those surveyed by Cybersecurity.net reports believe that revenge porn is still not a crime punishable by law. This snapshot of an Italy still ignorant about the issue shows how important it is to continue talking about it even after the creation of Article 612 ter that regulates and punishes the "Unlawful dissemination of sexually explicit images or videos" precisely revenge porn but above all to provide victims with the right tools first and foremost to report it, to treat those violated personality traits and to raise their voices so that fewer and fewer such episodes happen.