On a November Saturday, hundreds of men gathered in front of the Swiss parliament in Bern to say, in their own voices, that the struggle against violence toward women cannot be left to women alone. The rally, a quiet reckoning among men, arrives against a backdrop of online currents that have drawn young men toward dominance and contempt, and of research showing how many of them already hold such views. It asks an old question in a new setting: what do men owe to one another, and to the women and queer people around them, before the first blow is ever struck?
Hundreds of Men March in Bern Against Violence Against Women, Urging Men to Break Silence
Men commit about four-fifths of violent crimes in Switzerland, according to Justice Minister Beat Jans, with rape cases attributed to men at up to 99 percent.
"We men are part of the problem"
Mark
Why does it matter that this rally was led by men?
Mimi
Because the organisers say the problem is partly theirs. Christoph Gosteli put it plainly: men are part of the problem, so men have to be part of the solution.
Luke
That's a statement of purpose, though. What did the rally actually change? The reporting doesn't say.
Mark
Fair. What's the backdrop?
Mimi
A June survey from the University of Zurich and MenCare found half of men aged 18 to 24 held a restrictive, dominance-based view of masculinity.
Luke
Worth noting that's one survey, and the wording is the researchers' framing. The source doesn't give sample size or method.
Mark
And the manosphere link?
Mimi
The reporting ties misogynistic content online to that network and says its influencers were emboldened after Trump's election win.
Luke
That's a claim about influence, not something the survey proves. The source doesn't show the young men surveyed were drawn in by those influencers.
Mark
What about Beat Jans's figures?
Mimi
He said men commit four-fifths of violent crimes and up to 99 percent of rapes. His point was that it's not all men, but it's almost always men.
Luke
Those are the minister's numbers in a speech. The source gives no underlying dataset, so I'd treat them as attributed, not independently checked.
Der Puls
- Hundreds of men rallied on Bundesplatz, outside the Swiss parliament, under the banner 'Men Against Violence Against Women,' turning the spotlight onto their own gender.
- A June survey found that half of Swiss men aged 18 to 24 hold a restrictive, dominance-based view of masculinity, a figure that alarms organisers and officials alike.
- Online manosphere networks, emboldened in the wake of Donald Trump's US election win, are cited as amplifying misogynistic derision and threats aimed at young men.
- Justice Minister Beat Jans states that men commit about four-fifths of violent crimes in Switzerland, with rape cases attributed to men at up to 99 percent.
- Organisers and Jans are pushing for a society-wide debate on masculinity beginning in schools, and the real test now is whether words become policy and classroom change.
On a November Saturday, hundreds of men gathered in front of the Swiss parliament in Bern to say, in their own voices, that the struggle against violence toward women cannot be left to women alone. The rally, a quiet reckoning among men, arrives against a backdrop of online currents that have drawn young men toward dominance and contempt, and of research showing how many of them already hold such views. It asks an old question in a new setting: what do men owe to one another, and to the women and queer people around them, before the first blow is ever struck?
On Saturday, hundreds of men gathered on Bundesplatz in Bern, outside the Swiss parliament, for a rally called "Men Against Violence Against Women." It was men who organised it, and men who spoke to the crowd, carrying a message that they must play a far more active part in confronting misogyny and violence against women.
Among the organisers was Christoph Gosteli, a 42-year-old social worker. He refused to stand apart from the problem. "We men are part of the problem," he said, and the only honest response is to refuse that role and become part of the solution.
The rally answers a growing unease about online misogyny reaching teenage boys and young men. Much of it flows through the manosphere, a loose web of forums and influencers preaching male supremacy and hostility to feminism, and those voices, according to reporting, grew bolder after Donald Trump's US election victory.
Swiss research gives that unease some shape. A June survey by the University of Zurich and MenCare found that half of male respondents aged 18 to 24 held a restrictive, dominance-based view of masculinity, and many worried that "real men" were being pushed to the margins. The authors called for a society-wide debate on the ideals of masculinity that encourage violence, beginning in schools.
Federal Justice Minister Beat Jans has taken up the same theme. In a speech on November 2 he said men commit four-fifths of violent crimes, and up to 99 percent of rapes. "It is not all men," he said, "but we must also admit: It is almost always men." Violence, he argued, begins long before the first blow, with a demeaning remark, and every man carries a duty to challenge it.
What happens next will show whether these calls for change remain words at a rally or grow into policy and lessons in the classroom.
On Saturday, hundreds of men gathered on Bundesplatz in Bern, outside the Swiss parliament, for a rally called "Men Against Violence Against Women." Men led it, and men were the ones addressing the crowd. Their message was that men have to take a more effective part in confronting misogyny and violence against women.
One of the co-organisers was Christoph Gosteli, a 42-year-old social worker who worked with a group called maenner. He did not frame the rally as men standing apart from the problem. "We men are part of the problem," he said, naming the problem as violence against women and queer people. That, he argued, is why men need to take a stand and say they no longer want to be part of the problem but part of the solution.
The rally follows persistent concern that misogyny is too widespread online among teenage boys and young men, and that other men have not built a strong enough counter-narrative. Much of that content is tied to the so-called manosphere, a loose network of online forums and influencers promoting male supremacy and hostility to feminism. According to the reporting, these influencers were emboldened after Donald Trump won the US presidential election, using the moment to justify and amplify misogynistic derision and threats online.
Swiss research gives the worry some numbers. In June, the University of Zurich and MenCare, an umbrella group of Swiss men's and fathers' organisations, released a survey on attitudes toward masculinity. It found that half of male respondents aged 18 to 24 held what the authors called a restrictive, dominance-based view of masculinity. Those respondents also expressed concern that "real men" are increasingly marginalised in society. The study called for a systematic, society-wide debate about ideals of masculinity that promote violence, and said it should begin in schools.
The issue has also reached the federal government. Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans attended a conference earlier this month on the dangers of violent online abuse of women. In a speech on November 2, he said men commit four-fifths of violent crimes, and that in rape cases the share is as high as 99 percent. "It is not all men," Jans said, "But we must also admit: It is almost always men." He added that violence by men does not begin with the first blow but with a disparaging remark, and that all men have a duty.
The rally's organisers and the justice minister are making a similar argument: that responsibility for change rests substantially with men, and that it starts well before physical violence, in everyday language and in the ideas boys absorb. What to watch next is whether the call from the June study for a public debate on masculinity, beginning in schools, turns into concrete policy or classroom change.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
It is not all men. But we must also admit: It is almost always men.— Beat Jans, Swiss Justice Minister, November 2 speech
We men are part of the problem, the problem being violence against women and queer people.— Christoph Gosteli, rally co-organiser
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