Spain: a "bad mother" speaks out

In Spain, a documentary series aired by private broadcaster Telecinco in which the well-known TV presenter Rocío Carrasco, disparaged by many as a "bad mother", talks about being psychologically abused by her husband and losing custody of her two children, has triggered a fierce debate. Among other things, commentators criticise the one-sided perspective of the documentary, which they say fails to do justice to the complexity of this important issue.

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El Periódico de Catalunya (ES) /

Unprofessional journalism

This sensitive and important topic has been taken up by a private channel that is presenting only one side of the story and that is not necessarily constructive, writes journalist and feminist Emma Riverola in El Periódico de Catalunya:

“The 'I believe you, sister' is activism, struggle, sisterhood. But it is not journalism and never can be. The ability to question everything - even the seemingly obvious - is a defining characteristic of the profession. You can't present a statement as true without checking it through your own research. ... If the judiciary were to reopen the case and then rule against Rocío Carrasco again, to what extent would this help to strengthen the credibility of so many women who are victims of abuse?”

El País (ES) /

We expect everything of mothers but nothing of fathers

Journalist Luz Sánchez-Mellado discusses how social pressure weighs much more heavily on mothers than on fathers in El País:

“From the moment you give birth, you are no longer just yourself. You are a mother and will remain so until you die. That's how people see you, that's what they call you, that's how they judge you. A mother would never do this, would never do that, and the fact that it's often other women who cast the worst stones makes it even worse. A mother shouldn't decide not to breastfeed if she is able to. A mother doesn't go out to party and leave someone else to look after her children. A mother doesn't give up custody for career reasons. ... Nobody talks about the fathers. They're men, you know how it is. The children are the mother's, even if they have the first surname of someone who's not there and from whom nothing is expected.”