Abuse of power: future family minister: sexism affects all parties

abuse of power
Future Family Minister: Sexism affects all parties

Lisa Paus sees sexism as a “structural problem”. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa Pool/dpa

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Linke co-boss Susanne Hennig-Wellsow has announced her resignation due to sexism in her own party. According to the future family minister, Lisa Paus, this does not only affect the left.

From the point of view of future Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus, sexism is a cross-party problem in German politics.

“The allegations made by the left are frightening,” said the Green politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. Sexism and abuse of power occur in various parliamentary groups in the Bundestag. “It goes across all parties.” Sexism is “a structural problem – and that includes political operations,” Paus explained.

The Left politician Susanne Hennig-Wellsow had announced her resignation as party leader. One of the reasons she gave was the way sexism was dealt with in her own ranks. This revealed “blatant deficits” of the party. Hennig-Wellsow also alluded to the current suspected cases of sexual assault within the party, which the news magazine Der Spiegel had reported on. It was about alleged cases of sexualized violence in the Hessian Left Party.

Paus demanded: “There must also be a clear condemnation of the perpetrators. And we need appropriate preventive structures.” There must be independent contact points for people who have had such experiences. The Greens politician called for harsh consequences for the perpetrators: “Anyone who abuses power in this way and uses sexual violence is, in my opinion, not suitable for continuing to bear political responsibility.”

dpa

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