Germany's Dark Field Study and Epstein Fallout: Misogyny as a Growing Trend

Germany - Ekhbary News Agency

Germany's Dark Field Study and Epstein Fallout: Misogyny as a Growing Trend

It once seemed as though society was finally moving away from tolerating sexual assault. Yet, the stark reality is that the outrage surrounding the #MeToo movement has always been more significant than the movement itself. This disillusionment is exacerbated as more and more wealthy and powerful individuals are exposed as close associates of the late Jeffrey Epstein, raising uncomfortable questions about the complicity of global elites in facilitating heinous crimes.

Simultaneously, Germany is grappling with the findings of a new, unsettling study. The results are unequivocal: violence is an everyday occurrence, primarily within the home, and disproportionately targets women. The perpetrators are most often current or former partners, leaving victims in a vulnerable and dependent position, which largely explains why formal charges are rarely filed. Men who engage in physical abuse and sexual assault often feel a profound sense of impunity. This is not only because their victims are too dependent to resist or report, but also because society, it appears, continues to accept male claims of ownership over women and their bodies as a divinely ordained right.

This deeply ingrained societal acceptance is precisely what shielded Jeffrey Epstein, who abused and discarded girls for decades without anyone daring to question his actions. The distinction here is crucial: we are not discussing a common domestic abuser, but a multimillionaire with a private island and inexhaustible resources to intimidate victims and witnesses. Presidents and ministers, princes and princesses, esteemed thinkers and visionaries – they not only looked away but also made light of the situation, or posed for friendly photographs alongside underage girls in tank tops. When a few, particularly courageous, girls dared to expose the injustice, the default response was to believe the perpetrator. What is the dignity of a young girl, after all, against the concentrated power of the global elite?

The mechanisms that silence women are disturbingly consistent across all contexts. Whether the scene of the crime is a lavish palace or a dilapidated shack, whether a glittering guest list or a meticulously manicured front yard conceals the horror, the burden of shame, despite the harrowing courage of figures like Gisèle Pelicot, has yet to shift its allegiance. One might optimistically suggest that things will eventually improve. What are 60 years of feminism against 6,000 years of patriarchy? However, without concerted effort, the situation is more likely to deteriorate. A brief scroll through TikTok reveals a disturbing trend: young boys are being indoctrinated by misogynists like Andrew Tate on how to 'break' girls, or learning from AI bots like 'Grok' how to digitally manipulate female classmates into pornography. They even engage in competitive fantasies of violence: 'Imagine we're watching a movie in my bed, then I start to choke you with my pillow, and you die.'

It may have seemed at one point that society was no longer willing to tolerate sexual assault. But in truth, the outrage over MeToo was always greater than the movement itself. Now, misogyny is a trend. And a man who boasts about sexual assault is an American president – also an associate of Epstein. Instead of clarifying the abuse scandal, protecting the victims, and holding perpetrators accountable, he has treated the millions of pages of Epstein files like trash. In the USA, these newly revealed entanglements have thus far led to no consequences. In Europe, however, the situation is different. The European Union is not allowing Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and the heads of TikTok to evade responsibility for the glorification of violence on their platforms. This offers a glimmer of hope, much like the German government's study, which refuses to accept that violence behind closed doors should remain invisible.

Ekhbary News Agency