Inappropriate Use of ‘Hate Speech’ Allegations at the OSCE Gender Equality Meeting in Vienna

By • on November 6, 2009

Vienna Feature

Reply by Austrian Representative regarding the accusation of “hate speech” against NGOs

(Translation)

I object to a certain debate culture which is employed more and more often by a certain group of participants. Disagreement with someone else’s opinion is immediately denounced as hate speech. The accusation of hate speech is a serious one. We have been dealing intensively with this phenomenon in these human dimension meeting for many years. We take part in these human dimension meeting precisely because we need to find solutions to the current grave problems. The localization and identification of the problems and their implications are an important prerequisite to finding a solution.

Now if a certain negative social behavior – and here I am alluding to this meeting’s topic – like FGM and forced marriages, is manifested only in very specific religious and ethnic migrant groups, this group must be able to be identified. This is not stereotyping, but a fact, and definitely not hate speech.

To conclude, educating female milk farmers in (the Austrian state of) Styria on the dangers of FGM will not be helpful.

(The Ambassador was alluding to the frequent call for education in order to combat violence against women.)

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