Vienna men stage Walk of Shame against femicide

Men staged a “Walk of Shame” on Friday along Vienna’s Kärntner Straße shopping street to draw attention to the fact that a woman is killed because of her gender in Austria on average every two weeks this year, ORF reported.

Several men moved slowly towards the Vienna State Opera with their backs bent and their hands on the ground, while others carried signs reading “Never again femicide!”

“Whenever we do nothing, we automatically support the system from which we as men benefit,” said theatre-maker Stefan Ebner, who was responsible for the performance.

The event was organised by StoP, an association working to prevent intimate partner violence in neighbourhoods, with support from political and media representatives. Association chair Maria Rösslhumer said preventing violence against women required “men who set an example”.

Campaign reaches 100 male members

Former Social Minister Johannes Rauch of the Greens appeared at a press conference after the event as the 100th official member of a men’s campaign launched by StoP last year.

Rauch called for violence prevention to be anchored in law and for a national action plan backed by funding. He criticised not only physical violence but also disparaging behaviour, specifically naming former Vienna Chamber of Commerce president Walter Ruck and former ORF director-general Roland Weißmann. Both left their positions after, among other things, allegations of sexism.

Actor Cornelius Obonya, who also attended, said it was important how parents raised and prepared their sons and men for a society that is “of course male-dominated”. He added that it was “shocking how many people in the cultural sector do nothing”.