STA, 7 March 2019 - A statement by children's doctor and psychotherapist Viljem Ščuka equating sex and rape has been declared the most sexist statement of 2018 by the organisers of feminist and queer festival Red Dawns.
"Mass rapes of girls (schoolmates) are not possible if girls are against. Both participants are responsible for sexual intercourse because it takes place with both being fully conscious ..."
Ščuka, 80, made the statement for the news portal Svet24 commenting on a former teacher's proposal about how to tackle problematic, violent primary school children.
It earned him the Silver Thistle title, which is conferred annually to raise awareness about sexist statements which are usually overlooked.
"This dishonourable title is given to those who publicly attack, humiliate or offend others on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and/or sexual identity," according to the festival's website.
The citation of the Silver Thistle said Ščuka's statement "equalises sexual intercourse with sexual violence and shifts responsibility for violence onto victims, which is not only unacceptable but also dangerous".
It added it was hard to understand anyone would think rape takes place with the victim's consent and even harder if such a statement was made publicly by an expert.
The Silver Thistle is given out on the basis of an online vote by the editorial board of spol.si, a news portal focussing on gender issues, and the Red Dawns collective, which organises the festival of the same name.
The most sexist statement of last year was declared Wednesday evening.
Last year, the dishonourable title went to acclaimed jurist Boštjan M. Zupančič, who labelled French politician Simone Veil (1927-1979) a murderer for allowing abortion.
https://www.total-slovenia-news.com/lifestyle/748-slovenia-s-most-sexist-statement-of-the-year-award
