Spain’s Equality Ministry has presented “El papel que no eliges” (“The role you do not choose”), a campaign on sexual deepfakes due to launch on 15 November, ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Treating this practice as digital violence against women is a necessary public choice: AI can reproduce a person’s face, voice or gestures to create false sexual content without their knowledge or consent.
The campaign, presented by Equality Minister Ana Redondo and Carmen Martínez Perza, the government delegate against gender violence, addresses a specific harm rather than a vague warning about AI. The ministry says such fabrications can spread quickly and their effects may be difficult to reverse. That makes consent, rather than technical novelty, the central issue.
Redondo cited figures attributed to UN Women saying that 98% of fake videos available online are made from non-consensual pornographic images and that almost all feature women. The figure is relayed through the ministry and the announcement does not provide the underlying methodology. Even so, the campaign identifies the core conduct clearly: turning someone’s image into sexual material without permission is abuse, not a digital prank.
A public campaign can raise awareness of the harm caused by viewing and sharing the material. It can also help shift shame away from people falsely depicted and towards those who make or circulate the content. But awareness alone cannot provide rapid platform removal, legal and psychological support, or clear routes to hold perpetrators accountable.
The announcement does not set out a budget, distribution channels, expected reach or additional measures in those areas. That is the practical test for the campaign after it launches: naming the harm matters, but restoring a person’s control over their image requires accessible and enforceable protection.
Sources
- La Moncloa · Noticias de los ministerios — Origen de los datos: sitio web de lamoncloa.gob.es. Ministerio de la Presidencia. (https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/) · Source date: 2026-11-12
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-12