Ah, it’s refreshing to watch a president publicly denounce violence against women.
Sorry everyone, I don’t mean that president. France’s president Emmanuel Macron made a speech this past week denouncing violence perpetrated against women in all its forms, saying that this subject would be his top priority over the next five years.
“Our situation up to now shows that something is not working in our country,” Macron said in his speech. “The shame that women experience, a shame without reason since they are already victims. This shame should be experienced by the perpetrators of violence. It is a civic and political shame; it is a national disgrace.”
But not everyone is so sure that Macron is feminism’s new knight in shining armor. Tackling this major issue will require an enormous amount of time and funding in order to train police how to properly handle cases of sexual and domestic assault, as well as street harassment. While new laws outlawing catcalling and other quotidian forms of harassment are set to spring into action later this year, Macron had better make sure that he allocates a proper budget and resources in order to handle this delicate and crucial state of affairs.