First it’s rage. Then sadness and despair. And what’s left is all that anger. Because such a situation shouldn’t exist. It mustn’t exist.

After all those horrible stories of New Year’s Eve in Cologne, Hamburg and Stuttgart, I kind of feel ashamed of our humanity. On the one hand because of what happened, on the other hand because of the reactions – talking about #einearmlänge (#onearmlength).

But it’s not the victims of such attacks, be they sexual or not, who should change their behavior. It’s simply those disgusting assholes (and I want to add that it doesn’t matter where they’re from, because I’m pretty sure there’s lots to do in Germany to put our own house in order first – just remember the Oktoberfest, for example) who – wherever they are – always find a reason to sexually abuse or otherwise assault their victims.

I’m infuriated about a woman telling me how to behave like a woman – and in this case the victim – when I meet strangers.
Even if I want to walk down a dark alley naked at night, that’s not an invitation or carte blanche for anybody to rape me – no ifs or buts!
A “no” is a no and has to be accepted as that.

This whole topic shouldn’t make us women change our behavior but the culprits’. The behavior of those who think that women are a worthless sex object which you can use whenever and wherever you feel like it.

Those attacks make clear what’s missing in this world: respect. Respect for others.
And respect towards yourself – because when I read how many just play it all down, how many (especially women!) blame the victims, saying that it’s their own fault, it just leaves me enraged and at the same time terribly sad – to hear that even after all these incidents, this voice is still way too loud.

I really hope that someone will get the opportunity and power to change something. To punish the culprits (even though most of the time I have the feeling that in Germany you just have to be afraid if you downloaded something illegally…) and change this whole fundamental problem sustainably.
But we all should become one voice. Starting with our little ones, teaching them respect. How to treat others and accept a “no”. Kindness and tolerance. And that we’re all the same.

My mother always told me: “No one’s better than you, but no one’s worse than you, either.” – everyone should take this to heart.

P.S.: Of course, all this relates to men too – because there’s also a high number of male victims being sexually harrassed and this is also definitely not acceptable at all.