Content Warning: The article contains mentions of sexual violence, gun violence, and suicide.
Although largely condemned by most societies and religions, violence against women, particularly sexual violence, isn’t new. While women are certainly capable of taking care of themselves, one of the few societal expectations placed on men is to protect and provide for women and children. And while men, the very individuals who have historically had the largest say in society, created that expectation—to honor their mothers, wives, and daughters—it’s also men who constantly break it.
Think about the #MeToo and subsequent Times Up movements, for instance. Or about how the constant media warnings of the manosphere and Andrew Tate-type rhetoric. Think about Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplices, and about the numerous politicians who have resigned from office or lost elections due to sexual assault allegations throughout the decades. And these are just a fraction of the examples I could give from the media over the past few years, let alone all the lesser-known cases that have occurred for centuries.
These past few weeks have proved to be no different. All 4.06 billion young girls and women were given a stark reminder that even in 2026, they have to fear all men, even if we know only a few million who hold malicious intentions and act on them.
For example, on March 26, a CNN As Equals Investigation exposed a “global rape academy.” In 2024, Gisèle Pelicot came forward in a multi-rape case, where her ex-husband was convicted of drugging, raping, and allowing other men to do the same to her via an online chatroom. This prompted CNN’s investigation into other online sites, one of “which had around 62 million visits in February alone and whose core audience is in the United States.” On these websites, men motivated each other to assault women without the woman’s consent, and shared advice on how to do so. And that’s just the number of men who visited this particular website, not the number of men who visited others just like it, or who actively sexually assaulted women.
Not much later, on April 10, former California U.S. House Representative, Democrat Eric Swalwell, who was also a California gubernatorial candidate, faced sexual assault allegations, as reported by the San Fransicio Chronicle, followed by more allegations reported by CNN just hours later. While Swalwell has denied the allegations by young women who worked for the party, he said he has “certainly made mistakes” and apologized to his wife in a public statement. Shortly after, Swalwell resigned from his seat in Congress and dropped out of the governor’s race, as politicians across the country withdrew their support.
Swalwell was not the only politician to resign for sexual misconduct reasons. On March 6, Texas U.S. Representative, Republican Tony Gonzales, ended his re-election campaign after admitting to an affair with a former staffer who later died by suicide. While Gonzales will finish out his term, U.S. politicians have also withdrawn their endorsements and are pushing for Gonzales to face punitive Congressional measures.
And on April 16, former lieutenant governor of Virginia, Justin Fairfax, died by suicide after shooting his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax. This came as Justin was accused of sexual assault by two women in 2019, and as the couple was currently going through divorce proceedings.
Sexual violence by those in power isn’t new. In fact, 162 state-level officials have been accused of sexual misconduct since 2013, according to the National Women’s Defense League. This behavior is further normalized when politicians hold significant leadership positions despite these allegations. For example, President Trump has given numerous statements sexualizing women and has even faced connections to Jeffrey Epstein and the Epstein files, yet he has won two presidential elections.
However, it’s not just those in power who are violent towards women. As the “rape academy” case shows, part of the terror that girls and women face is that it could be any man, and even more likely, one they already trust. In fact, about 60% of rape cases are by someone the victim knows, and 2 of 3 cases of sexual violence are estimated to go unreported. Sexual assault is often underreported due to trauma, the fear of not being believed, or of retaliation.
Most obviously, this results in various forms of physical, emotional, and mental trauma for women who have faced sexual abuse. Additionally, this lowers the standards women should expect from men, directly benefiting all men, yet harming all women. For example, what should be “he would never harm me” becomes “at least he doesn’t hit or rape me.” This gives men more leniency in their behavior, but raises the risks for women.
This is further perpetuated in multiple, smaller ways. For example, when reports of these cases come out, teenage girls are often called “young women.” This further excuses the abuse of men, as the nuance in the rhetoric used slightly softens the intensity of the crime. Yet a woman’s younger age is often used to question the legitimacy of her story and whether she is truly believable, rather than to emphasize the horrible acts she faced. Both these direct violent acts and these smaller indirect effects trap girls and women in a vicious cycle where they continue to face violence and are often not believed when they report it.
Now, this isn’t to discredit the progress that has been made for women or the societal harms men face. In fact, on April 28, the European Parliament adopted an “only yes means yes” resolution that defines rape based on the absence of consent. Instead, it’s proof that while positive change for women has occurred, it still isn’t enough. Moreover, it’s a call to alter the system we live in, the one that was created and enforced by men, but hurts all people, most directly women.