Semenzato: 'Against body shaming, raising awareness of being unique'

"Body shaming is the denigration of the body, nowadays particularly amplified by social media, where, moreover, most insults are made anonymously. The bill wants to put in place a whole series of activities that value being unique'. This was emphasised during the episode of Parlamento24 by Martina Semenzato (Noi moderati), president of the parliamentary commission of enquiry on feminicide and all forms of gender-based violence and first signatory of the bill being examined by the Chamber of Deputies that wants to establish a national day against the denigration of people's physical appearance.

Body shaming is the practice of criticising, mocking, humiliating someone for their physical appearance, often through insults, mockery or innuendo. A form of verbal and psychological violence that can have a devastating impact on people, affecting their self-esteem, mental health and social relationships. A phenomenon that, unfortunately, also takes on the characteristics of bullying, cyberbullying, and hate speech on social networks.

'We are talking about raising awareness and knowledge of the phenomenon,' recalls president Martina Semenzato, 'which is the starting point. The denigration of the body must first of all be denounced, the people who accuse you must be denounced through a plurality of tools, including journalistic information rather than campaigns within schools and why not also institutional campaigns. So the tools available are those of civil society but also of the family, the school and of course politics'.

How important is it to promote and organise educational initiatives on this issue? "I am chairman of a committee, the one on feminicide, on gender violence, where the fundamental aspect is the culture of respect. Precisely in the domestic sphere. The first denigration,' recalls President Semenzato, 'is the accusation against the body, and so the educational agency of the school is a fundamental element in drawing the attention of those who will be the men of tomorrow and the women of tomorrow to important issues of respect for the person. Because the fight against body shaming means the fight for respect of persons'.

The awareness and communication campaigns will also talk about the criminal responsibilities of this phenomenon. "There will undoubtedly be talk about the responsibilities of this phenomenon, which is obviously part of the bullying cases. Public institutional campaigns, but also private institutional campaigns that also gather the voice of media such as yours".