Gender-based Violence Representation in the Italian Media: Reviewing Changes in Public Narrations from Femicide to “Revenge Pornography”

The following contribution examines the phenomenon of male violence against women in Italy from a sociological perspective. The aim is to present the latest changes in how gender-based violence (GBV), perpetrated online and offline, is represented in news media and awareness-raising campaigns. Building on the most relevant qualitative and quantitative research studies conducted on the representation of GBV and femicide in Italy over the past ten years, the paper will reflect on the role that the Italian women’s movement and some communities of journalists have played in eliciting a narration of GBV and violence against women and girls (VAWG) more attentive toward power dynamics and freed from gender stereotypes.