It was not a game, it was not goliardia. It was a gigantic humiliation machine. For twenty years, since 2005, Picha.eu He has collected and disseminated photos of common women and public figures without consent, transforming them into goods for a male audience thirsty for domain. Women photographed secretly, former “avenged” partner, political leaders reduced to pornographic caricatures. All under the eyes of millions of users.
The platform was not a small lair hidden in the dark web: it was a known, frequented, “successful” site. Only in July 2025 he totaled 12.8 million viewswith a growth of 16% compared to the previous month. Giant numbers, which tell a cultural chasm even before criminal.
The closure came only now, after years of complaints and reports, but the damage remains: widespread material everywhere, deep wounds in the lives of hundreds of thousands of women.
The precedent of the group “My wife”
Case Picha.eu It is not isolated. A few months ago the Facebook group had caused “My wife”Where 32 thousand subscribers They shared and commented private photos of their partners, often unbeknownst to these. A gigantic “virtual bar” where the female body became the subject of derision, exchange, non -consensual pornography.
Different forms, same logic: to reduce the woman to “her own”, to deny them dignity and freedom.
The effort of the postal police
Closing a site or group does not mean solving the problem. The investigators of the Postal Police know this well, who for years have denounced a enormous disproportion between the amount of the phenomenon and the resources available. “We close a platform and three are born,” they explain. The speed with which the web regenerates spaces of violence far exceeds the ability of repression.
For this reason, more incisive regulatory tools are needed next to investigations and penaltiesinternational cooperation and above all a profound cultural change.
Dr. Stefania Bartoccetti, as a founder of Telephone Donna Italia What does the explosion of the Picha.eu case tell us?
«He tells us that we are not talking about marginal episodes. Picha.eu has been active for twenty years, with millions of users. It is proof that digital violence is not a deviation of a few sick people, but a widespread and rooted reality and the antechamber of maritation, of any kind, from the psychological and economic to physical. It is yet another confirmation of how Misoginia has moved and enhanced in online space ».
She defines it “the antechamber of mistreatment”. Why?
Because behind those comments and images there is the same scheme of domestic or sexual violence: to reduce women to the subject, deprive her of dignity, deny her the right to exist as an autonomous person. It is not pornography, it is abuse. It is the construction of a culture that prepares and legitimizes mistreatment.
What is the profile of these men?
«They are desperate, frustrated men, who in anonymity find the only possible affirmation space. But be careful: they are not four cats. We are talking about tens of thousands of people, a real “tribe” that shares hatred and grudge. It is a mass phenomenon, not an isolated subculture. That’s why it is very dangerous: those who write certain online things proves to have no respect for women and can also become the author of violence in real life ».
Some speak of Goliardia, a joke between males. She disagrees.
«No, it’s not a goliarded. It is a cloaca where frustration and hatred is vomited. It is a circle of defeated men who do not know how to relate to a real woman, who would never hold a comparison. It is a way to reaffirm a male power that is no longer there, that society no longer recognizes. So yes, it is the antechamber of violence ».
The case of the “My wife” group showed a widespread misogyny also in daily life. What does this episode tell us?
«It tells us that digital violence does not live only in the dark web, but in the houses, in the lounges, in the virtual bars. Thousands of men used the images of their companions as trophies. This means not only not respecting women, but not even respecting themselves, their relationships, their family. It is the sign of a very deep cultural degradation ».
And the postal police?
«The police do what it can, but it is evident that it is not enough. These sites must be monitored continuously and, above all, the managers must be unmasked. I want to know who I am, what work they do, where they live. Because those who are capable of humiliating women on the net are a dangerous subject, who can act outside the web. We cannot leave them in the shadows ».
Many say: “If you publish certain photos, you were looking for it” …
«It is the mechanism of secondary victimization. It is the same speech that was once made with the miniskirts: “If you go to the disco you dressed like this, you deserve a harassment”. No. The responsibility is always of those who abuse, not those who show themselves. Women must not be forced to take a step back, they don’t have to live the net with fear. If the consequence is self -censorship, it means that violence has won twice. “
What does it need in addition to a justice that listens to everyone and takes charge of the denucies and where there are Etremi also imposed penalties?
«We need culture. It is necessary to educate children for a responsible use of the network, to respect, to consent. A national plan against digital violence is needed, resources appropriate to the postal police, and a greater responsibility for the platforms. We can no longer accept that social networks are franche areas ».
In the last cases, they have often been activists and influencers to unmask these groups. How important are their role?
«It is essential, because activism from below brings to light realities that otherwise would remain submerged. But it cannot be enough. The institutions must take their part: we cannot continue to rely only on the courage of the women who denounce. Laws, controls, effective penalties are needed ».
The risk is that these spaces become fuchs of more concrete violence.
“Exact. Those men who spend hours insult and ridicule online women are dangerous individuals, because verbal and symbolic violence can easily translate into real violence. For this they must be identified and stopped. Not only punished, but unmasked. Because their strength is the anonymity: to remove it means to remove power over it ».
In summary, Dr., what does this story teach us?
«That it is not enough to close a site. Culture must be changed. It must be clearly said that humiliating a woman, even “only” with an online comment, is not a joke, but violence. And that female dignity is never negotiated, “.
An urgency that concerns everyone
«The closure of Picha.eu It is not a goal, but a starting point. Other sites will be born, other chats will multiply. Without a radical change, we will continue to chase.
It is not only a matter of penis, but of mentality. Or we change together, men and women, parents, schools, institutions, or we will continue to pay the price of this violence. The network is a place of life, and must also become a place of respect ».
