Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Is Furious With Sites Spreading Photos Of Women Without Permission

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (photo: x @GiorgiaMeloni)

MILAN Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on Friday 29 August expressed her anger over an adult site that published photos of women without permission, including her, amid a wave of national outrage over misogini and online harassment.

The site, phica.eu whose name is a play from harsh words for female sex organs in Italian closed on Thursday after drawing widespread criticism and being legally reported.

"I feel sick of what happened, and I want to convey my solidarity to all women who have been insulted, attacked, and violated their privacy by forum administrators and their users," Meloni said, as quoted by daily Corriere della Sera.

The site has been operating since 2005 and has more than 200,000 registered members, but has come under sharp media and politicians this week after another misogynistic online harassment case emerged.

Earlier this month, Facebook also closed a group called Mia Moglie ('My Wife'), where users shared intimate photos of women without permission, following a wave of public reports led by authors and activists Carolina CAPria. The group has more than 32,000 members. Meta, Facebook's parent company, stated that the group violated policies against adult sexual exploitation.

"Referring that in 2025 there are still people who think it is natural and legitimate to trampled on women's dignity and make it an object of sexist and vulgar insult, shelter behind anonymity or keyboard," Meloni said.

Following pressure from activists and lawmakers, Eugena's Minister of Equality Roccella said the government was preparing stronger online protection and cultural reforms against misogini and sexism.

The phica.eu site is known to accommodate thousands of pictures and videos of manipulation of female public figures who are often accompanied by obscene and violent comments. The site also displays photos of ordinary women categorized based on geographic locations.

In its closing statement, the site administrator admitted to closing the forum "with great regret" because of the toxic behavior' which 'rures the initial spirit' of the site.

Apart from Meloni, the site also features images of opposition leader Elly Schlein, influencer Chiara Ferragni, and European Parliament member Alessandra Moretti, who has filed criminal complaints and called such sites "inciting rape and violence."