When an anniversary comes around, especially one whose purpose is to address a problem or a challenge, the first thing people rush to say is: one day isn't enough, we need to talk about it all year round. And never was such a statement more fitting than for this particular anniversary — 25 November. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

In 2020 the day is dedicated to the theme of the shadow pandemic — the hidden pandemic, the one that isn't in the spotlight, caused by lockdown. The other pandemic, which has worsened the dangerous situation experienced by women within their own homes.

There is nothing "jocular" about destroying a reputation

An undeniably important day, with great symbolic value, but one that, to be of any use, requires constant and strenuous work. Work whose aim is to change the culture — not only in our country, Italy, but across our continent. One in three women (aged over 15) has experienced physical or sexual violence in Europe. Meanwhile, half of all European women have experienced sexual harassment. Finally, one in ten women has experienced some form of online harassment. Staggering figures, difficult to fathom when one considers that the population of the European Union — without the United Kingdom — is over 446 million people.

The elimination of violence against women is therefore a cause that needs everyone's support, especially today, when it — like other issues, from racism to various forms of denialism — is experiencing a level of unacceptable acceptance as a result of a narrative that on social media has dressed itself up as "banter".

It would apparently be just a bit of fun to forward intimate and private videos of ex-partners, girlfriends, wives and "female friends" to groups of equally "friendly" men on WhatsApp or Telegram. It has become the norm to flood with insults, abuse or hate speech women whose only offence is to have had their private lives violated, or to be someone on social media and to break the cliché of the woman who "keeps to herself", who stays "one step behind".

Silence is complicit

And so it is absolutely true that each and every one of us can do something concrete. Man or woman, girl or boy. We can openly dissociate ourselves, we can call people out or speak up when we witness violence — the most common form of which is digital — and draw attention to it rather than staying "silent" when the five-a-side football chat or the fantasy football chat is "screaming".

We can break down the wall of silence and bring expressions like revenge porn, slut-shaming and victim-blaming into everyday language (if you haven't seen it, I recommend Chiara Ferragni's video). We can report and block certain hate-filled comments until those responsible can take action. How many of you would have imagined in 2016 that just four years later Trump's tweets would be hidden, flagged as false?

Behaviours to recognise

First, though, we need to learn about certain attitudes in order to recognise them. To understand and grasp the meaning of certain expressions, we need to inform ourselves. It is not easy to pick up on the nuances that underpin certain behaviours, which are sometimes even exhibited unconsciously.

To turn every day into a day of mobilisation and activism for the elimination of violence against women, I can think of no better way than to follow a number of accounts that on social media — Instagram in particular — are doing incredible work in terms of information-sharing, raising awareness and everyday activism. Here are three I would recommend.

Silvia Semenzin

@silviasemenzin_

Semenzin works on data justice — that is, ensuring that human rights and democracy are upheld in digital society as well. In 2018 she was among the promoters of the #intimitàviolata campaign, which led to the recognition in Italy too, on 17 July 2019, of the offence of non-consensual sharing of intimate material, the so-called revenge porn. A watershed moment that led her to work on feminism, sexuality and gender equality. She collaborates with Amnesty International, whose Barometro dell'odio deserves a mention — a social media monitoring project carried out with the contribution of activists.

Semenzin is also part of the Virgin & Martyr collective, which promotes sexual, socio-emotional and digital education. I'll leave you with a short excerpt from the conversation Semenzin had with two other women who are having great success on social media, Sofia Viscardi and Camihawke. Here they discuss sexuality and the internet.

Carolina Capria

@lhascrittounafemmina

A writer of books for children and young adults, her recent works include Piccole donne – 15 parole per diventare grandi. What struck me about her is the clarity and simplicity of the language she uses to address topics that are anything but clear and simple. I was drawn in, for instance, by her videos on femicide and rape culture. And she does so by drawing on women's literature. Her account, including on Facebook, is called L'ha scritto una femmina (A woman wrote it), and its aim is to shine a light on titles that address issues related to gender equality, or that are simply written by women and are for that reason considered less interesting, if not outright "boring". The goal, then, is to correct the distortions born of prejudice.

On femicide, and on how the narrative always seeks to find excuses that relieve the perpetrator of blame and to identify female behaviours that provoked it, I recommend this IGTV.

On rape culture and how it is almost never acknowledged — neither by the perpetrator nor by the victim — I recommend this other video in which Capria suggests two titles on violence against women.

Carlotta Vagnoli

@carlottavagnoli

"I write about sex, the body, equality and -other- current affairs. I create content for brands that make ethics and sustainability their strong points. I dream of contributing to changing the divisive narrative rampant in mainstream media. I go into schools to run training sessions on respecting consent and defusing rape culture. I make, in general, a lot of noise." This is how Vagnoli presents herself on her LinkedIn profile. Her approach is direct, sharp. Sharp enough to allow people to "step outside the bubble" by bursting it. The only useful way, this, to "reach a wide audience with topics considered niche". The time has come to claim what has been denied to women for centuries. And to do that, it is necessary to raise your head, raise your voice.