On Thursday, 26.03.2026 went over 300 People in Kassel on the street, to demonstrate against patriarchal violence. The trigger was the case of Collien Fernandes, who recently made her ex-husband Christian Ulmen public as the alleged perpetrator. This demonstration is one of many demonstrations in many German cities. Most recently, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Berlin and Hamburg.
“We are angry, “We are stunned and affected,” the organizers say:inside the demonstration on Thursday in front of the Kassel town hall. The Kassel Initiative Against Feminicides organized the demonstration without further ado. The short one, but the powerful demo procession from the town hall to Königsplatz counted a little over 300 Protester:inside and otherwise remained quiet. "Women, life, “Freedom” shouted the participants:loudly in the front rows inside the demonstration, while they walk through Königsstrasse. The signs read “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” and “Feminism, the radical notion that women are equal”, a call for human rights and equality between the sexes.
The Collien Fernandez case and the German legal system
The background for the protests that are currently emerging is the story of Collien Fernandes, a German presenter. She blames her ex-husband, he would have deepfakes, i.e. images and videos generated with artificial intelligence, misused by her for pornographic content. Ulmen used the deepfakes to build a network of men, who were in the faith, to have contact with Collien Fernandes. She says in the Spiegel interview “You virtually raped me”.
So far, digital sexualized violence is not punishable in Germany. or, like the speakers:emphasize it inside: “The German legal system protects perpetrators.” Collien Fernandes therefore reported her ex-husband in Spain. The state of Hesse has announced measures, For example, reporting points for digital violence should be set up and prevention offers created. In addition, the police and judiciary should be given structures for better responsiveness to digital violence and for the systematic recording of cases.
Femicide and the patriarchy
A lot of people express themselves, especially on social media, angry people on the topic. Mainly women and queer people, who express their anger and express their solidarity, but gradually also men, who express their disbelief, albeit tentatively. The requirements, that men also show solidarity and turn against patriarchal structures, have been getting louder in the feminist scene for some time now.
Because this incident is not an isolated case. The organizers:inside the demonstration emphasize the social context and the series of incidents, in which the current case falls, like the Epstein files, which uncover an ever-growing network of violent crimes, or the case of Gisèle Pelicot. The system, that they denounce, is called patriarchy. A society, which prefers the male and attributes privileges to him and creates a very clear power relationship, which women in particular suffer from.
Femizide, this is the murder of women and feminized people and is the most extreme form of patriarchal violence. But the different forms of violence, psychic, Physical and digital sexualized violence all belong to the same system and serve to do so, “Subjecting and controlling women and feminized people to a patriarchal logic”, as the initiative writes on its website. The trial of a femicide was also started on the same day, the one in July 2025 took place in Kassel (decentralized reported).
When racism becomes the answer to sexism
The demonstration participants also have answers to Merz: “Racism does not protect us women, “Mr. Merz” they write on one of their signs. He commented on the case in his press conference the evening before and sees the cause of the violence among the “immigrants” and sparked great outrage and backlash on social networks and among the demonstrators, as can also be read on another sign: "No, Merz, No. A significant proportion are men.” At the parallel demonstration in Hamburg, on which even 22.000 people came together, this became clear again. Collien Fernandez spoke there, although she previously received death threats – and only received more hate.
The question, those on social media and especially among female activists:within, Acting college:women remain inside and show solidarity: What do men actually do? – And that doesn't just mean politics – so that it doesn't stay that way. At the end, the speaker from the initiative refers again to the Gisèle Pelicot case: “Shame has to change sides, fear has to change sides. There must be responsibility too!”