A mass catcalling at a university college in Madrid has sparked an outcry across Spain after it surfaced online, described by users as misogynistic and “an invitation to violence”.
Students at Elías Ahuja, an all-male college part of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, staged a display from their windows on Sunday shouting: “Whores, come out of your burrows like rabbits, you’re fucking nymphomaniacs. I promise you’ll all fuck in the bullfight! Go Ahuja!”
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The students then proceed to appear across different windows across the building en masse facing Santa Mónica, the women’s accommodation nearby, and continue yelling.
A video of the incident went viral online, prompting outcry nationwide. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told reporters this morning he was calling all politicians and media outlets that “we need to give a united and common message of rejection of these machista behaviours which are unexplainable, unjustifiable and absolutely repugnant. And that we don’t give any excuse for these behaviours, they don’t reflect the majority of Spanish society.”
Rita Maestre, the spokesperson for Más Madrid, a progressive party in the capital, tweeted: “After this, they will ask us why we feel afraid in the streets.”
Spain’s laws against rape and sexual assault have been the subject of fierce protest by feminist groups in recent years. After a long campaign, the law was changed to a “yes means yes” rule, whereby staying silent during a rape could never be seen as consent, after a string of high-profile cases where attackers got off with light sentences.
Álvaro Nieto, the deputy director of Elías Ahuja, told Spanish news outlet El Pais that the college has already expelled one pupil who is believed to have initiated the event, and in a statement hinted at expelling others. He said the expelled student won’t leave immediately, but will be placed in alternative accommodation for the following fortnight as they are investigated and heard alongside other participants.
He added that the college has 174 students and not all of them were involved. The ‘capea’, the amateur bullfight that was to be held this month, has been suspended.
The school released a statement in an Instagram post, saying it strongly condemned the students’ actions as “incomprehensible and inadmissible.” The statement added it would be undertaking a number of measures in response targeted at the students responsible, including punishment and expulsion, releasing public apologies, obligatory participation in gender equality courses and community volunteering.
Spanish news outlet El Público found videos on TikTok that show versions of the chant have been staged previously, and that it’s a custom at the beginning of the academic year. A former student told them that older students teach the newcomers this “speech” annually.
Irene Montero, the minister for equality, said: “It is an obvious sign that sex education is needed and that institutions must stop legitimising sexist discourse.”
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