Why a '10 second groping' rule is going viral on social media

Italian social media users are expressing outrage after judges said groping had to last 10 seconds to be considered sexual assault.

Italian social media users are posting protest videos after a man was cleared of groping a teenager because the incident lasted less than 10 seconds. Source: Supplied / TikTok

Key Points

• Italian judges have acquitted a man accused of groping a school student because it lasted less than 10 seconds.
• In response, a '10 second' hashtag has gone viral on social media in protest of the decision.
• Videos show people touching their bodies and staring into the camera while a stopwatch counts down time.

This article contains references to sexual assault.

How long does an unwanted touch have to last before it is considered groping?

At least 10 seconds, according to an Italian courtroom.

Social media users are criticising judges for clearing a school caretaker of sexual assault charges after he was reported for groping a student at a Rome high school in April 2022.

The student, who was 17 at the time, said she was walking to class when a caretaker grabbed her underwear and touched her buttocks.

The caretaker admitted to groping the student without consent, but claimed it had been a joke.

Prosecutors argued the 66-year-old should be given a three-and-a-half-year sentence for sexual assault.

According to judges, the incident did “not meet the criteria for a crime” because it lasted for less than 10 seconds.

Now, the phrases ‘palpata breve’ (a brief groping) and 10 secondi have started trending in Italy in response to the ruling.

One of the first people to use the tag was actor Paolo Camilli, who posted a video online showing himself rubbing his chest alongside a stopwatch counting down from 10 seconds.

Camilli's TikTok video has over 276,000 views at the time of writing.

His post sparked a wave of videos showing social media users staring into a camera touching their bodies - or having another person touching them - for 10 seconds.

The videos are designed to illustrate the amount of time the caretaker would have had to be touching the student for his actions to be considered sexual assault.

"The judges ruled that he was joking? Well, it was no joke to me," the student reportedly told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"That handful of seconds was more than enough for the caretaker to make me feel his hands on me.

"I'm starting to think I was wrong to trust the institutions. This is not justice."

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.