Proposed Anti-Anorexia Law Causes Debate in Italy
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A proposed law in Italy that aims to jail or fine promoters of eating disorders is causing controversy this week because of the people it specifically targets: owners of pro-anorexia and bulimia websites, who can often be young sufferers themselves.
The national bipartisan legislation would add a clause to an already existing law that makes it a crime to instigate suicide. It would specifically target worrisome “pro-mia” and “pro-ana” websites as they are called — sites that provide a place for those suffering from eating disorders to discuss diet tips, share “thinspiration” (or “thinspo”) photos, and discuss observations in an insular way. Experts say these sites (which are numerous in the U.S. as well as other countries) pose a danger by promoting anorexia and bulimia as positive lifestyle choices.
“The world of pro-ana and thinspo is a dangerous place for those who have eating disorders or who are vulnerable to developing them,” Claire Mysko, teen outreach coordinator for the National Eating Disorders Association, told Yahoo Health. Though she said she could not comment on the details of Italy’s proposal, Mysko added, “People who create and consume this content are not villains; they are struggling, and sometimes they are very sick. That’s why we believe so strongly in providing a positive alternative.”
If the Italian bill is approved, creators of such sites would face fines of $10,000 to $100,000 euros (approximately $13,000 to $134,000), and/or jail time of up to two years. Fines would double if the website was found to have affected a victim younger than 14. Both houses of parliament must approve the legislation, which is still in the early discussion stages, in order for it to become law. And though it was proposed in June, discussions on the topic heated up this week, according to various reports from the Italian press.
Critics say that not only would it be difficult to weed out culprits under such a law, it would punish young people who need help, not jail time or fines, in dealing with their own anorexia and bulimia.
Author Chiara Lalli wrote an opinion piece about the law, calling it “wacky” and “ultra-conservative.” She asked (in Italian, as translated), “How can you think of putting in jail the authors of blogs, websites, Facebook pages, who are often just the girls who suffer from anorexia?” and said she felt the proposal “lacks reflection, study.” Journalist Angela Azzaro has also been critical, writing in July that, while the effort is “laudable” because it attempts to address a huge problem, to go about it punitively “is not only deluded, it is likely to be counterproductive.” She added, “To say there is a manager who instigates and should go to jail is like claiming that if the conflict is with the mother, you have to put the parent behind bars.”
But Italy is not the first country to consider attacking the problem this way. In France, a similar law passed the lower house of parliament in 2008 but was stalled in the Senate; similar attempts were made in the U.K., Australia, and the Netherlands. And various social media sites, including Facebook and Tumblr, have various ways of regulating pro-ana pages.
Michela Marzano, a philosopher, professor, and one of three members of the Italian Parliament to sponsor the proposal, told Yahoo Health in an email (which was translated) that the law would send a powerful message. “[These websites] tell girls and young women how to not be hungry, how to make themselves vomit, and how to be more and more thin,” explained Marzano, who said her own battle with anorexia began at age 18 and lasted for two decades. “The sites don’t necessarily cause this troubling behavior, because the causes are complex and many, but the sites do maintain people’s suffering, by making them feel like everything is alright. In Italy, there are thousands of these sites,” she wrote.
She added that it’s important to “take seriously the troubles of health behavior in Italy,” where, according to a 2013 report from the country’s Ministry of Health, there are an estimated 2,500 new cases of anorexia and more than 3,000 of bulimia each year. The issue of eating disorders in Italy entered the international spotlight in 2006, when Milan Fashion Week (along with Spain’s Madrid Fashion Week) banned ultra-skinny models from its runways. A year later, the country banned posters that were part of a “No Anorexia” campaign because of their disturbing imagery.
“With regards to anorexia and bulimia, there is no culprit, only the symptoms of a very profound malaise,” Marzano added, addressing the idea behind the proposed law. “Anorexia, from which I myself have suffered, is ‘only’ a symptom. It’s one thing to say there is no culprit, it’s another thing to say nothing can be done vis-a-vis these websites, which both maintain the suffering of and cradle the people who suffer from these dangerous lies.”