ROME: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has urged women to immediately report intimate photographs shared online without their consent after discovering she was among the victims.
Meloni expressed disgust after doctored photos of high-profile women including herself and opposition leader Elly Schlein appeared on a pornographic website.
The images originated from photographs at political rallies and holiday snaps stolen from personal social media accounts before being altered to sexualise body parts.
The platform called Phica had over 700,000 subscribers before closing on Thursday while blaming users for breaking its rules.
This followed last week’s discovery of a now-shuttered Italian Facebook group called “My Wife” where men posted photos of their wives with vulgar comments.
“I want to extend my solidarity and support to all the women who have been offended, insulted and violated,“ Meloni said.
“It is disheartening to note that in 2025, there are still those who consider it normal and legitimate to trample on a woman’s dignity and target her with sexist and vulgar insults, hiding behind anonymity or a keyboard,“ she said.
Italian police confirmed receiving many reports about sites posting lewd or doctored images without consent.
Meloni demanded those responsible be identified and punished with the utmost firmness as quickly as possible.
“Content that is considered harmless can, in the wrong hands, become a terrible weapon. And we must all be aware of this”, she said.
“The best defence available to protect ourselves and those around us” is to “immediately report” such crimes, she told victims.
According to the Post online newspaper, Phica had existed since 2005 and remained open despite numerous police reports over the years.
The newspaper said the site organised “cum tributes” with men posting proof of masturbation over photographs of fellow users’ wives or girlfriends.
One victim Mary Galati discovered she was on it in 2023 and used her father’s identity documents to sign up since the site only accepted male users.
The site was “hell” with “husbands sharing photos of their wives (and) men exposing their partners or relatives.
“Even fathers uploading photos of their very young daughters — four or five-year-old girls — being sexualised. Photos of their feet, their bodies, accompanied by sexist and paedophile comments.” – AFP