Non sono solo immagini by Politecnico di Milano

In the last years, the way people communicate has radically transformed: thanks to digital technologies, and in particular online platforms, new relational possibilities have opened up, together with new forms of violence. One of them is image-based sexual abuse, the non-consensual distribution and/or creation of private sexual material. This type of violence is perpetrated daily within vast online communities to the detriment of mainly unaware victims.

The research aimed to study the practices of image-based sexual abuse and the role of platforms in their implementation within the community, focusing not on the victims but on the perpetrators. The opportunity identified to obtain this shift in perspective (from victims to perpetrators) is that of online vernacular language, the set of expressions, styles, and grammars peculiar to digital communities.

“Non sono solo immagini” is a site designed to educate and raise awareness on image-based sexual abuse using the evidence from the research carried out on online vernacular language. The project is a collection of artifacts displayed as visualizations designed to analyze the communications and practices of those who perpetrate violence to provide the user with the tools to initiate a critical reflection on the subject that could be the first step towards social change.