Published 2025-01-31
Keywords
- Digitalization,
- AI,
- Artificial intelligence,
- Deepfake,
- Gender based violence
- Reality ...More
Copyright (c) 2025 Studia Humanitatis Journal

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This article constitutes an exploratory contribution to the understanding of the intersection between digital technologies and gender-based violence, with a particular focus on the emerging threats posed by deepfake technologies. It combines theoretical insights and empirical analysis based on data collected through a non-probabilistic opinion survey. The fundamental objective of this article is to analyze how deepfake and deepreal phenomena are perceived in the context of gender-based violence and to identify patterns in public awareness and attitudes toward these technologies. The methodological approach involves qualitative analysis supported by survey data, aimed at capturing trends rather than making generalizable conclusions. Through this approach, the article seeks to offer a critical discussion on the ethical, social, and cultural ramifications of deepfake-related gender violence, paving the way for future research and regulatory recommendations
References
- Amnesty (2021). Barometro dell’odio. Intoleranza pandemica. Amnesty International Sezione Italiana. https://www.amnesty.it/barometro-dellodio-intolleranza-pandemica/
- Baudrillard, J. (1981). Simulacres et simulations. Galilee.
- Burgess, M. (16 October 2023). Deepfake Porn Is Out of Control. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/deepfake-porn-is-out-of-control/
- Chesney, R., Citron, D. (2019). Deep Fakes: A Looming Challenge for Privacy, Democracy, and National Security. California Law Review, 107, 1753-1820. https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38RV0D15J
- Citron, D. (2019). Sexual Privacy. Yale Law Journal, 128, 1870-1938. https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/620/
- Cole, S. (2017, December 11). AI-Assisted Fake Porn Is Here and We’re All Fucked. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/gydydm/gal-gadot-fake-ai-porn
- Demir, I., Ciftci, U. (2021). Where Do Deep Fakes Look? Synthetic Face Detection via Gaze Tracking. ETRA ’21 Full Papers: ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications, 6, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1145/3448017.3457387
- Flynn, A., Powell, A., Scott, A., Camas, E. (2022). Deepfakes and Digitally Altered Imagery Abuse: A Cross-Country Exploration of an Emerging form of Image-Based Sexual Abuse. British Journal of Criminology, 63(6), 1341-1358. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azab111
- Frezza, G. (2015). Endoapocalypse, The Walking Dead, The Digital Imaginary, The Post-Human. Area-blu Editions.
- Goodfellow, I., Pouget-Abadie, J., Mirza, M., Xu, B., Warde-Farley, D., Ozair, S., Courville, A., Bengio, Y. (2020). Generative Adversarial Networks. Communications of the ACM, 63(11), 139-144. https://doi.org/10.1145/3422622 [First published, 2014]
- Hedgecoe, G. (24 September 2023). AI-generated naked child images shock Spanish town of Almendralejo. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66877718
- Lerner, M. (1980). The Belief in a Just World: A Fundamental Delusion. Plenum Press.
- Maddocks, S. (2018). From nonconsensual pornography to image-based sexual abuse: Charting the course of a problem with many names. Australian Feminist Studies, 33(97), 345-491. https://doi.org/10.1080/08164649.2018.1542592
- Mento, C., Pira, F. (2023). La violenza in un “click”. Profili sociologici, psicologici e giuridici del revenge porn. Franco Angeli.
- Mori, M. (2012). The Uncanny Valley: The Original Essay by Masahiro Mori. IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, 19(2), 98-100. [First published 1970, in Japanese]. https://doi.org/10.1109/MRA.2012.2192811
- Öhman, C. (2020). Introducing the pervert’s dilemma: a contribution to the critique of Deepfake Pornography. Ethics Inf Technol 22, 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-019-09522-1
- Paris, B., Donovan, J. (2019). Deepfakes and Cheap Fakes. The Manipulation of Audio and Visual Evidence. Data & Society. https://datasociety.net/library/deepfakes-and-cheap-fakes/
- Pecchinenda, G. (2017). Il reale è virtuale, in Exagère. Rivista di sociologia, psicologia, pedagogia, filosofia, 5-6, p. 6.
- Ryan, W. (1971). Blaming The Victim. Orbach & Chambers.
- Schwartz, O. (2018, November 12). You thought fake news was bad? Deep fakes are where truth goes to die. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/12/deep-fakes-fake-news-truth
- Vacca. V. (2015). La cultura iper connessa. Il Museo 3.0. Unclosed, 2(7). https://www.unclosed.eu/rubriche/restore/restore-restauro-ricomposizioni-riciclaggio-remake/107-la-cultura-iper-connessa-il-museo-3-0.html
- Waisbord, S. (2018). Truth is What Happens to News: On journalism, fake news, and post-truth. Journalism Studies, 19(13), 1866–1878. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2018.1492881