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Addressing the Blurred question of ‘responsibility’: insights from online news comments on a case of nonconsensual pornography

ABSTRACT In spring 2015, six private videos of a young Italian woman (T.C.) were uploaded on the web without her consent. The videos went immediately viral, and suddenly the woman found herself at the centre of a strenuous legal battle to have the videos removed from the internet and to obtain a change of surname. In her complaint, she stated that despite having willingly participated in the filming, she had never consented to the circulation of the videos and as a result of the unwanted publicity she was receiving she was unable to lead a normal life. Incapable of coping with the growing social pressure, in the late summer of 2016 the woman took her own life. Looking at the comments posted under two newspaper articles published online in the immediate aftermath of her suicide, this article examines the socio-cultural implications of nonconsensual pornography practices in the contemporary Italian public debate. Specifically, this study will try to address the following questions: how was T.C.’s case constructed by the public? How was the responsibility for her death framed in such a discussion? What are the implications of such responses when discussing societal sexism and gender inequality in contemporary Italy?