BODY SHAMING. BRUNETTA AND SEMENZATO: A FORM OF VIOLENCE IN EVERY RESPECT

“Body shaming is neither a mere oversight nor an unintentional lack of sensitivity or tact. Body shaming is violence in every respect—psychological, moral and material—capable of leaving deep scars on those who experience it and of affecting a person for life.

Through Law No. 150 of 3 October 2025, our country established a National Day against the Denigration of Physical Appearance. This observance is an invitation to look at others with greater respect and humanity. No one should feel alone when confronted with words that humiliate, laughter that excludes or judgments that wound deeply.

For this reason, CNEL has decided to establish a permanent Focus on body shaming within its Observatory on Inclusion and Accessibility. Our aim is to identify the most effective forms of cooperation and operational coordination among institutions, social partners, the Third Sector and civil society. Ensuring that respect for the dignity of every individual becomes a shared and tangible responsibility requires the contribution of all—from schools to families, from the media to the world of sport. Equally essential is the structured involvement of intermediary bodies and their thematic and territorial branches, which are deeply rooted throughout the country.

We hope that the celebrations on 16 May will not merely be a symbolic gesture, but rather an opportunity to renew this common commitment and to reaffirm the importance of collective responsibility.”

This was stated in a joint note by Renato Brunetta, President of CNEL, and Martina Semenzato, sponsor of the law establishing the National Day against Body Shaming and Chair of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on Femicide and All Other Forms of Gender-Based Violence.

To mark the National Day against the Denigration of Physical Appearance, Villa Lubin, the headquarters of CNEL, will be illuminated in fuchsia.

Further information (materials available in Italian only):

• Click here for the news release (Italian version only).
• Click here for the editorial “My Experience with the Violence of Body Shaming” by CNEL President Renato Brunetta, published in Corriere della Sera on 14 May (Italian version only).
• Click here for Law No. 150 of 3 October 2025 (Italian version only).

Campaign materials (available in Italian only):

• Click here for the poster of the first national awareness campaign (Italian version only).
• Click here for the brochure “Shame Lies in the Eyes of Those Who Offend” (Italian version only).
• Click here for the postcard “The World Is Made of All Colours” (Italian version only).
• Click here for the video of the first national awareness campaign (Italian version only).
• Click here for the awareness video “The Fuchsia Pencil” (Italian version only).

English translation generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of inconsistency, the original Italian text shall prevail.