Beyond fiction: protecting minors in the era of images

A reflection from the National Coordination of Human Rights Teachers on sentence No. 22579/2025 of the Court of Cassation and on the urgency of educating on visual ethics in Italian schools

The National Coordination of Teachers in the field of Human Rights wishes to publicly reflect on a ruling by the Court of Cassation that closely concerns us. It does so not only as legal professionals, but as educators, citizens, and individuals committed every day to shaping free and conscious minds.

We are talking about judgment No. 22579 of June 16, 2025, issued by the Third Criminal Section of the Court of Cassation (President Di Nicola, Reporter Giorgianni). The topic discussed is extremely delicate: the so-called “virtual child pornography”.

The Court clarified that even comics, drawings, images stemming from imagination, if they depict minors in sexually explicit contexts in a realistic manner, fall within the scope of Article 600-quater.1 of the Criminal Code. In other words: it is not necessary for the minor to actually exist for there to be a crime. It is sufficient that such representation appears real, evoking – with visual force – the concrete possibility of abuse.

One part of the motivation struck us in particular. It states that the legislator wanted to ensure “enhanced protection of the integrity of minors’ personalities” and respect for their growth times. This is a concept that those working in schools are familiar with: educating means protecting, but also knowing how to wait. Respecting the times, the silences, the vulnerabilities of the developmental age.

And so we wonder: what happens when the visual culture surrounding children and teenagers breaks that invisible pact of protection? When even a drawing can allude to a sexual act and make it appear “normal,” “possible,” even attractive?

We teachers know well how much representation matters. We know that visual languages – comics, manga, cartoons, videos, memes – speak to students with a power that often exceeds that of written or spoken words in the classroom. That’s why this sentence concerns us.

It tells us that there is a boundary – subtle but real – between artistic freedom and symbolic exploitation.
It tells us that not everything that is “fiction” is harmless, especially when it concerns the collective imagination about childhood. It tells us, essentially, that we must take action.

In light of these scenarios, the National Coordination of Teachers in the field of Human Rights addresses an appeal to the Minister of Education and Merit, Prof. Giuseppe Valditara, to open a working group aimed at introducing more effective prevention and education tools in Italian schools, capable of addressing the issue of the representation of minors in the world of media and contemporary visual culture.

Specifically, we propose:

• Inserting structured paths of education on image ethics into school curricula, going beyond simple digital education. It is necessary to develop in young people a critical awareness capable of decoding the messages conveyed by visually seemingly innocuous content – such as comics, manga, and animation – which often hide distorted or dangerous representations of childhood and the juvenile body.

Teacher training on these boundary issues, where law, art, technology, and ethical responsibility intersect. A new educational competence is needed to enable teachers to interpret and address ambiguous, often underestimated, content that is part of students’ everyday media life with awareness.

Creating spaces for dialogue and discussion within schools, where girls and boys can talk, supported by trained adults, about how the representation of bodies, childhood, and sexuality is portrayed in the media. Only in this way will it be possible to build a healthier, more respectful, and authentic imaginary world.

This is not an ideological battle, nor a request for censorship. It is a proposal for educational and cultural responsibility. Because today, more than ever, the ethics of images are an integral part of education on human rights.

The CNDDU is now available to collaborate with the Ministry, schools, and training institutions to give concreteness to these actions, with projects, teaching tools, training sessions, and shared research moments.