Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape
A New York court convicted the former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of rape and a criminal sex act on Monday. But it acquitted the 67-year-old of two charges, including the most serious count of "predatory sexual assault". Commentators are relieved that Weinstein has been brought to justice but say a lot still remains to be done.
Not unassailable after all
Weinstein believed he was above the law - now he's learning he was wrong, author and screenwriter Gabriele Romagnoli comments approvingly in La Repubblica:
“Yesterday it was again clear that he considered himself untouchable - in his haughty attitude as the jury withdrew, in the incredulous expression on his face as the officers approached him with handcuffs, in the way he left the courtroom on his way to a cell where he believes he won't have to stay long. All that was missing was for him to declare himself a political prisoner, the victim of a conspiracy forged by the other half of the world. Harvey Weinstein was convinced that he would walk away a free man with his head held high. ... And perhaps that he could go on behaving as he did in the past. ... But that is not the case.”
Victim-perpetrator reversal still omnipresent
Der Standard sees the verdict as a first step forward in the consistent punishment of sexual violence against women, but no more than that:
“Yes, the verdict is good news, sending the message that men like Weinstein can no longer get away with everything. However, we also know that they still get away with quite a lot. After all, Weinstein was able to act freely for many decades, and it took the combined strength of many affected persons for him to finally be convicted. And this trial has also shown how frighteningly clumsily and blatantly the victim-perpetrator reversal remains intact as part of the natural vocabulary in sexualised assaults. And that does something to those affected - to those in court, and to those who for this reason will probably never go to court.”