00:00It's time now for our Entre Nous segment with Solange Moujean.
00:06Solange, you're focusing on a societal issue that touches every nation in the world,
00:12the violence against women, and you're starting off with the increasingly disturbing ideologies
00:17that's promoting such violence.
00:19Yeah, before I get into sort of the mind-boggling and actually quite horrifying numbers in France
00:24and also worldwide of violence against women, I thought I would start with a positive or at
00:29least try to, and that is education and the need for better education in this regard,
00:34or the need to better understand the forces that play here so that you, me, and everyone
00:38can spot such violence and thus fight against it.
00:42And one of those forces that is promoting violence against women, and men too as well,
00:48and this is on a global scale because it is largely digital, is masculinism.
00:53Now, what is masculinism?
00:55It is a group of different movements that believe that men are the victims of a society
01:00dominated by women.
01:01There are many different branches of this, but essentially their idea is that there is
01:06a crisis of masculinity and that men should no longer be the victims of feminism, that
01:11men should take back their virility and strength.
01:14Masculinism promotes misogynist rhetoric, and it is not the opposite of feminism, where the
01:20basic idea is equality between the sexes.
01:24Masculinism is an ideology that tries to argue that men and women should have different roles
01:29because of their differences, and it places heterosexual families as a model of that society,
01:36one that must be defended, they say.
01:38It often politicizes women's bodies as well.
01:41It is a binary sexist view of the world and of gender roles, and it is not just fringe
01:48groups anymore.
01:49We see it in politics, largely among conservative and far-right groups.
01:53We also see it in tech, online, with the likes of influencers that have hundreds of thousands
01:59of followers, and also some tech leaders as well, promoting what they call the manosphere,
02:05which is actually the umbrella term for online communities that promote masculinism and misogyny.
02:12This is all over social media.
02:14Young men are increasingly getting sucked into it.
02:17And a French sociologist explained to France24 how it comes down to shifting gender norms.
02:22Young men are attracted to it because they're filled with contradictions and the paradoxes
02:31between an idea of virility, which pushes them to be violent, superior and dominant,
02:36and to use force, and to treat others as inferiors if they aren't strong.
02:41That versus the culture of equality, so they're stuck with these contradictions.
02:47Some are taking a step away from that, while others are leaning into it, because it gives them
02:51strength and reinforces their identity.
02:56And Solange, masculinism is largely based on the idea of victimhood of men, when in fact
03:01this is largely an illusion.
03:02Yeah, the numbers abound in regard to the fact that women are largely the victims of male
03:09violence.
03:10But before I get into those figures, it's essential to note that men too are victims of these masculinist
03:17ideas as well, that it seeps in from an early age, and can be particularly attractive to young men,
03:23for example, who are in search of themselves or in search of being liked and loved.
03:30Sexist education and stereotypes continue to exist.
03:34You're raised with this history, or this sort of contract in regard to virility,
03:39masculinity, or the idea that if you step on everyone else, if you're the perfect man
03:44that shows no emotion, then you will have everything.
03:47You'll be rich and powerful, have lots of women, it will be marvellous.
03:53Now, the extent of such fallacy shows the extent to which education is essential to curb
03:59these sexist views that promote violence towards women and anyone who essentially doesn't fit
04:04this virilist mode of masculinity. And one of the first steps of doing this is recognizing
04:10the degree to which gender violence and violence against women, sexual violence, is a real and
04:15global problem. In the UN-sponsored report for 2025, it found that 25% of women, or nearly one in three
04:24women, are the victims of sexual violence. And this figure of some 840 million women who have been
04:30beaten, raped, sexually assaulted, harassed. It's largely thought to be far less than the reality
04:36because of the stigmas and the fear that surround sexual violence. The UN's report also shows where
04:42in the world sexual violence is most prevalent. Again, this hits every nation, every socioeconomic
04:49group. But the report found that the Oceana and Africa regions have doubled the number of women who
04:55are victims of sexual violence compared to other regions. Worldwide, this is a societal and economic,
05:02this has societal and economic costs that actually far surpassed what it would cost to fight this.
05:09Studies have proven that things like education, strengthening judicial systems, and creating support
05:14groups for victims, they work.
05:17And finally, Solange, where does France stand when it comes to violence against women?
05:21Well, here too, the numbers are absolutely chilling. According to a 2025 report by France's
05:27Observatory for Violence Against Women, it found in 2024 that 270,000 women were the victim of rape,
05:35attempted rape, or sexual violence. That's one woman every two minutes in France. It also tallied
05:40at least 107 murders or femicides of women by their partners or exes, and 200 attempted femicides.
05:48The report actually now takes into account as well indirect femicides or women who were pushed to
05:54suicide or attempted suicide after being harassed, bringing the total to 1,283 femicides or attempted
06:04femicides. Then there's the effect on children. 94 children were left, essentially orphans,
06:09with more or less mom being killed and dad being sent to jail. And beyond these cases, there's also
06:14everyday violence and a systemic presence of it. The report showed that in France, one woman every
06:2023 seconds is a victim of sexual harassment, exhibitionism, or receiving sexual images online.
06:29All right, Solange, thank you very much for taking us through that very important point there on
06:34International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. That's it for this edition of Entre Nous.
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