Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Reuters: US military carried out a new strike targeting a ship in the Caribbean Sea
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli raids targeted a cement plant, an asphalt factory, and fuel tanks in the Ansar area in South Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: A series of violent Israeli raids targeted the outskirts of the town of Ansar
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli warplanes raided the outskirts of the town of Shmestar in Bekaa, eastern Lebanon
Donald Trump will speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday: White House
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli warplanes raid the town of Bnaafoul, Saida district
YAF: Israeli enemy will pay for this crime.
Yemeni Armed Forces: Son of Major General Al-Ghamari martyred alongside him in Israeli aggression.
Yemeni Armed Forces: YAF mourns martyrdom of Chief of the General Staff Mohammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Palestinian shot and killed by IOF east of Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip

Sexism against women increasing in France

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 24 Jan 2023 15:18
4 Min Read

Even with the global spread of the #MeToo movement and violence against women becoming more commonly discussed, sexual violence and harassment continue to increase.

  • x
  • Women carry a banner that says
    Women carry a banner that says "stop sexist and sexual violence" in November 2021 in Paris (AP)

Women in France are increasingly becoming victims to new forms of harassment in the online realm such as verbal abuse and pornography with “barbaric” content.

A study of 2,500 people by the High Authority on Equality (HCE) revealed sexist behavior amping up in “all spheres”, amid many men's increasing acceptability of violent behavior against women in France. It further discovered that older men maintained the mentality of gender roles in society and younger men harbored aggressive macho behavior towards treating women. 

In the study, women aged 18-24 were questioned, and 22% of them said they experienced “psychological control or excessive jealousy” by a partner, while 15% confessed to having been physically abused and beaten by their partner; the number was recorded at 20% among women aged 50-64.

The poll demonstrated that in the category pertaining to 18- to 24-year-olds, 22% said they were victims of sexual assault or rape.

Read next: Pentagon report: Sexual assault is up 13% in the US military

Despite the #MeToo movement, violent behavior speeds up

Even with the global spread of the #MeToo movement and violence against women becoming more commonly discussed, the study found that “bias and gender stereotypes, sexist cliches and everyday sexism are still commonplace,"

Related News

Trump's Pentagon chief nominee an avid Islamophobe, extremist

Britney Spears' Conservatorship is a Feminist Issue

"People recognize and deplore the existence of sexism but fail to reject it in practice, a phenomenon particularly widespread among the men questioned. This gap between perception, statements, and practice has tangible consequences in terms of symbolic, physical, sexual, and economic violence," the report said.

Women who were part of the polls displayed skepticism about the effectiveness of measures and policies that are intended to combat sexism. In a separate part of the poll regarding treatment in the workplace, school and in public, 80% of women said they were ill-treated on account of their sex, and 37% of men reported the same.

Femicide rates just the tip of the iceberg

A spokesperson for the feminist group Osez Le Féminisme, Fabienne El Khoury, called the situation “depressing but not surprising”.

“We see that sexism is a structural problem. It’s not just a question of discrimination in salaries and pensions or an increasing number of femicides, which are the visible part of the iceberg, but a whole mentality that needs to change,” she expressed.

HCE president, Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette, announced that this survey is a first of its kind in France. 

“We wanted to do for sexism what has been done for racism,” Pierre-Brossolette told the Guardian. “It’s not enough to protect women and punish men. If we don’t address the roots of everyday sexism and change the mentality we will never move forward. We cannot just deplore the situation we need to change it," Pierre-Brossolette said, adding that officials need to focus on male attitudes “from a very young age” to enforce more strict measures in fighting online violence towards women. 

“Everyday sexism leads to violent sexism,” she relayed. 

Sexism has been quite common in the UK and France and has been surfacing more recently. In 2017, Eric Zemmour compared women who participated in the #MeToo movement to those who assisted Nazis in tracking down Jews in France during the German occupation.

Back in May, French President Emmanuel Macron was accused by equality campaigners of not keeping his promise to stop violence against women and girls after the government kept a new minister accused of rape by two women.

  • Sexism
  • sexual assault
  • sexual harassment
  • France
  • MeToo

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi in an undated image in Gaza, occupied Palestine (Social media)

Gaza Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi killed by collaborators

  • Politics
  • 12 Oct 2025
drop site

New report details extensive Israeli arson in Gaza after ceasefire

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
Illustration of fists breaking shackles, representing the liberation of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. (Illustrated by: AL Mayadeen English/Batoul Chamas)

4 prominent Palestinian detainees to be freed: Who are they?

  • Palestine
  • 13 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
The bodies of deceased Palestinians, held by Israel during the war, lie in plastic bags on the floor of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, following their release, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' returns 30 Palestinian bodies; some bear marks of torture

Gaza buried under 70 million tons of war debris as crisis deepens
Politics

Gaza buried under 70 million tons of debris, 20,000 lingering UXOs

Ex-White House adviser Ashley Tellis charged over secret files
Politics

Ex-White House advisor accused of amassing troves of top secret files

An Israeli soldier rests by a mobile artillery unit at a gathering point on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern “Israel”, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Global arms bans isolate 'Israel', yet its war machine keeps running

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS