Kenneth Glad
A new wave of online testimony has renewed concern about safety, trust and accountability. It has also raised questions about the voices shaping young people’s views on respect and relationships.
In an opinion piece for The Independent, British writer and commentator Chloe Combi says men who oppose misogyny need to be more visible in everyday life, not only online.
Her argument is that silence has consequences. When boys are not hearing steady, humane messages from fathers, teachers, coaches, relatives and public figures, other voices can step in.
Combi argues that those voices are often coming from online spaces built around anger, grievance and hostility toward women.
Her piece follows a CNN report on an online “rape academy,” described as a platform linked to sexual violence content, and global attention on the Gisèle Pelicot trial in France, which drew international attention to sexual violence and consent.
Why some boys turned away
Combi links today’s divide to Everyone’s Invited, the movement founded by Soma Sara in 2020 to collect testimonies about rape culture in schools and universities.
The movement exposed serious claims of abuse and harassment. But Combi says some boys experienced the wider conversation as accusation rather than guidance.
She cites Jack, now 21, who recalled being told at school that “all boys were potential rapists”.
He said some peers later listened to influencers who told them: “You’re not the problem – it’s feminism, girls, and society that hates you because you’re a boy”.
This left some vulnerable young men open to online communities that rejected feminism and reframed women as the problem.
Trust is fragile
Combi also places the debate in the context of collapsing trust. Many women, she writes, do not believe police or courts will protect them after sexual violence.
She also points to the murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, then a serving Metropolitan Police officer, and the policing of Everard’s vigil as moments that badly damaged public trust.
A later official inquiry found Couzens “should never have been” an officer, after warning signs were missed during his career, as reported by AP.
Combi furthermore cites Erin, 23, who said she did not report being raped at university because “I don’t trust the police, I didn’t believe the justice system would work for me”.
The answer is not silence or defensiveness. It is for more men to become visible in the argument, writes Combi, especially around boys who are still forming their views.
Campaigner Elliot Rae told The Independent that “all men can be more vocal,” including by joining discussions and supporting existing campaigns. His simplest advice was: “just show up.”
Sources: Chloe Combi/The Independent, CNN, Everyone’s Invited, AP, Gov.uk
