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H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock

It¡¯s happening now… ¨Cnow… ¨C And now.

Worldwide, every second, eight women are physically assaulted.

Now¡­now¡­now. Just as we speak.

And we all know, as we have just heard, we are not talking about numbers.

We are not talking about seconds, or numbers, or statistics. We are talking about a mother. A daughter. A sister.

We are talking about you, about me.

It happened to me the first time on the bus when I was a girl going to school, then at a party as a student, and also as a high-ranking politician ?online.

When running for Chancellor in Germany, I was suddenly confronted with a fake image circulating online pretending I used to earn my money as a prostitute, still able to be found on social media, even being picked up in official television shows in different countries.

And as we have also heard, by you, dear moderator as a journalist, this experience is far from unique.

Almost every high-ranking woman in public life I have met throughout the last years ¡ª be it a journalist, activist, a politician ¡ª faces escalating digital harassment, sexualized abuse, and threats of physical violence.

And as we have also heard from Mona, thank you for sharing as well, it¡¯s happening not only in capitals, in studios, it¡¯s happening in classrooms, on football pitches, and with the digital fear that danger is especially for children and teenagers, you will never be able to shy away because you take your mobile devices home, in the middle of the night, you¡¯re checking it online again.

And it is crystal clear, this is no coincidence.

Happening now, now, now, this is a pattern. It is a pattern and it has a purpose.

The purpose is always the same: to intimidate, to humiliate, and especially to silence.

To try to push women out of the public sphere, especially out of circles of power.

And with the rapid advances in artificial intelligence, the scale and speed of this abuse is growing beyond anything we have seen before.

As many as 96 per cent, so almost all, of deepfake videos online are of women engaging in sexual acts.

They are made for targeting women.

Again, this is far beyond a coincidence ¡ª this is deeply systematic.

And this is not only happening to adult women.

58 per cent of all young women have experienced online harassment or abuse, even deepfake pornography.

So today is not only a day of warning, it is the start of action.

To join the call that the shame has to change sides, as the brave French survivor, Gis¨¨le?Pelicot, courageously said in court facing her abusers, ¡°it¡¯s not for us to have shame, it¡¯s for them. Shame must change sides.¡±

And this is why we are here, sharing our stories, because this is not about us. It¡¯s about them.

Whether it happens to us or to any woman anywhere, we have to speak up.

Put the shame on the perpetrators and put the shame on those who believe that violence is normal. That this just happens online. That it¡¯s acceptable, that as a digital platform you cannot do anything against it. That it¡¯s simply a fact of life in modern times.

It¡¯s not.

We must flip this narrative.

Accountability for violence against women must extend to governments, technology companies, and online advertisers; to anyone ¨C everywhere ¨C with a stake in the abuse, knowingly or unknowingly.

Ignorance is no excuse.

So today, as we open the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, let us not only unite ¡ª as women and girls, as Presidents, schoolgirls, football stars, CEOs, journalists, mothers, and sisters ¡ª

But let us stand up every day when women face violence, online or offline.

Put the shame on them, and this is why orange is also so important.

We are standing up proudly, we are standing up bravely, we are not shying away.