Empower the Woman!

It may initially be unbelievable that ten boys were acquitted in the "Anna Case." That is, in the trial concerning alleged sexual offenses with a then twelve-year-old. However, this is mainly because it was not about rapes, as tabloid media had claimed. If it were, it would have to be called a scandal. But as it stands, the decisive factors are quite different.

Even high-ranking female politicians disregard the facts. The Governor of Lower Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, and Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (both ÖVP) not only ride the wave of outrage but also confirm it: They demand the immediate deportation of convicted foreign violent criminals.

In the present case, this is inappropriate: Not a single boy was convicted, and even if some had been, deportation might have failed from the outset because they are Austrian citizens; albeit with a migration background, but still.

The reaction of the two shows that they are solely concerned with catering to sentiments. Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) is hardly better, using the case as an occasion to demand that delinquent youths be placed in a reformatory. The ten acquitted boys would have nothing to fear there: They have not become delinquent.

Conversely, it is telling that Plakolm is rather dismissive of the "Only Yes Means Yes" regulation. This regulation is about much more than merely stipulating that women must explicitly consent to sexual intercourse for it not to be considered rape. It's about the signal: It emphasizes that women determine what is allowed and what is not. They are empowered. Men must acknowledge this. And that's that.

This is important for men who view women as subordinate beings. These could be those who take the 1st Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, which FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl recently mentioned in another context, literally. It states, for example, that man is "the image and glory of God," but woman is "the glory of man"; or that man was "not created for the sake of woman," "but woman for the sake of man."

The signal would also be important for immigrants from cultural backgrounds where women have no say. All the more, it must be made clear to both that a woman also determines over her own body and that a man must not override this. Yes, that he must expect severe punishment if he does so anyway.

Is this realistic in relation to a twelve-year-old? More precisely: Is such a person already able to say what may or should be? It is a question of upbringing. If even a toddler is taught that they have autonomy over themselves, it works.

Johannes Huber runs the blog dieSubstanz.at – Analyses and Backgrounds on Politics

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.