She was young, vibrant and beautiful but Tiziana Cantone chose to end her own life after a sex video, which was shared widely without her consent, went viral and saw her become the subject of relentless online abuse.
In 2015 the 31-year-old Italian woman from Naples, reportedly sent a video herself performing oral sex on another man to her ex-boyfriend and friends she trusted, but soon the videos found their way onto the internet and her world changed, reports the Independent.
The woman’s face quickly became a viral meme in Italy and the video became even more popular when two Italian footballers, Antonio Floro Flores and Paolo Cannavaro, got in on mocking the woman.
Tiziana Cantone.
Cantone fast became the subject of unwanted attention with gossip sites and members of the public disparate to find out who she was.
Despite making attempts to have video removed from the internet, the explicit video kept on re-emerging and according to local reports, Cantone was in the process of legally changing her name when she was found dead.
An investigation has been launched into Cantone’ death and her mother, Maria Teresa, 58, said her daughter was “unable to untangle herself from the events”, reported La Repubblica.
“She had always been a healthy, normal girl,” said Ms Teresa.
“Recently, she had been very unhappy. She suffered from everything she saw and heard, and in particular from the lawsuit, because she believed justice had not been done.”
Teresa Petrosino, a friend, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that Ms Cantone was “destroyed” by the cruel abuse.
“She had spoken of her desire to leave everything behind, and to close with the past,” she said.
“I wonder how anyone can be so fierce, how to rage against a girl who has not done anything wrong.
“I think that they should be ashamed of all those who have filled the web of insults and meanwhile secretly watched the images.”
Italian MP Donata Lenzi, head of the Democratic Party (PD) group in the Social Affairs Commission, has proposed laws punishing cyberbullying and the sharing of revenge porn.
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