Green Party leader Felix Banaszak has called on men to join a demonstration in Berlin against male violence on the Ascension Day holiday. The protest is planned for this coming Thursday at the Brandenburg Gate.
Speaking to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” Banaszak stated that while the struggle against violence against women must continue to be spearheaded by women, he emphasized that violence against women is not solely a women’s issue-it is fundamentally a problem involving men. “For that reason, men finally need to be louder” he insisted.
Banaszak expressed his hope that many men, including students, fathers, colleagues, ministers, and even the Chancellor, would attend to demonstrate support for women. He added that a display of solidarity would be beneficial for figures like Friedrich Merz.
The initial call for a “Men Against Violence” demonstration in Berlin is being spearheaded by the initiative “Maennergegengewalt”. According to the group’s Instagram account, they aim to show solidarity with FLINTA-an acronym representing women, lesbians, intersex, non-binary, and transgender people-as an alternative to celebrating Father’s Day or Men’s Day with alcohol or harassment. Police have registered up to 1,000 participants for the event.