How to combat male violence?
Several thousand people – far more than the 500 announced – demonstrated on Sunday in Berlin against virtual and real-life violence against women. They were responding to a call for action by actor Collien Fernandes, who in Spiegel accused her ex-husband of humiliating her using fake online profiles and porn. In Spain, the public is in shock after a brutal femicide that took place at the weekend.
The German right is lagging behind
For the Frankfurter Rundschau, the debate shows that sexual violence is still being downplayed.
“Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) has announced at long last that she wants to crack down on digital violence with a law that will close gaps in criminal liability. But it's too late. Pornographic deepfakes and videos showing sexual violence have been doing the rounds on the internet for years. And the German right is lagging behind yet again. Society has permitted the existence of spaces where sexual violence can proliferate unchecked.”
Hideous face of masculinity
Kurier shudders at how many men seem to be intoxicated by power:
“These are shameful days for men. From the media and politics, the cultural industry, sport, world war starters and the Epstein files: the news is full of men who are intoxicated by power and who are abusing that power in many different ways which may often not be criminal, but are always repulsive. That is a damning indictment. But frighteningly, it's only part of the story. The internet today is exposing a truly hideous face of masculinity that is enough to make you shudder. ... Of course, by no means all men are like this. But a lot, far too many of them, are.”
Men shouldn't tolerate this either
Nadja Zeindler, editor of the Aargauer Zeitung, makes an appeal to "decent" men:
“What should we do? Stay single and live a peaceful life with a couple of cats, dogs or lamas? But as the mother of a son who will one day mutate into a teenager and then a grown man, that's not enough. Of course you can try to set an example to kids, showing them how to treat each other with respect, and try to keep them away from the social-media world of 'alpha men' as long as possible. But there are plenty of others who are trying to infect them. And once this filth gets into their heads, as a woman you'll be banging your head against a wall. Which is why I say to the decent men out there: 'Speak out. Stop just standing there and be loud, be visible!”
Numbed by the frequency of such cases
A woman was killed by her ex-partner in broad daylight on Saturday in the Spanish city of Zaragoza. The perpetrator then took his own life. In eldiario.es columnist Lucía Taboada expresses dismay and disgust:
“Violence against women is ubiquitous. It is as firmly embedded in everyday life as a street lamp. … The specifics are watered down; people speak of it as a 'private tragedy' or say that the man was 'going through a difficult time'. … Public desensitisation to the systematic murder of women by their partners and ex-partners is disheartening and revolting. … The greatest danger faced by many women is the man with whom they share or have shared their lives.”