Janusz Korwin-Mikke is a right-wing politician who constantly causes controversy. A few days ago, Civic Coalition (pol. Koalicja Obywatelska, KO) MP Kinga Gajewska tweeted an excerpt from the politician's parliamentary speech on the so-called "Kamilek bill". The founder of New Hope (pol. Nowa Nadzieja) stated that children have to be brought up using violence and no law can change that.

When Gajewska objected, Korwin-Mikke suggested that she did not understand anything because of her estrogen level. A bit later on Twitter he stated that "thanks to their hormones women are more alluring and can chat up children". In passing he also compared a woman carrying a child from rape to someone carrying a several-month-old foetus on their back. Don't you understand? Rest assured, you are not alone.

"The Kamilek Bill" is an amendment to the Family and Guardianship Code (pol. Kodeks rodzinny i opiekuńczy), which was passed by the Sejm on 13 July. It is intended to strengthen the protection of children from violence. There were 11 MPs against the bill - eight from the Confederation (pol. Konfederacja) and three members of the "Libertarians" circle. Janusz Korwin-Mikke decided to speak on the issue, stating that a child cannot walk over their parents and the only way to control them is by using violence.

"In the past it was the child that was afraid of the father and thanks to this there was no need for violence. If the authority of the father is now undermined, the child is not afraid. The child can’t walk over their parents - you have to use violence, because there is no other way," said Korwin-Mikke.

The New Hope founder was criticised by the KO MP. In response the politician said that the woman did not understand anything by having less estrogen due to her age. However, this was not the end of the politician's interest in female hormones.

Korwin-Mikke moreover decided to share a revealing thought regarding children on Twitter. According to him, thanks to estrogen a woman's mind better adapts to the developmental level of a child and enables them to understand baby cooing and gurgling.

Think Janusz Korwin-Mikke's is an expert only on women’s hormones? Rest assured, the politician also has something to say about rape. In an interview with Radomir Wit on TVN24, he compared a raped woman to a man who has to carry a several-month-old foetus on his back. Who do you think has it worse?

According to Janusz Korwin-Mikke the answer is obvious - the man. The politician suggests that having a fetus glued to someone's back is a much worse experience than being forced to give birth to a child that is the result of rape. After all, pregnant women can function normally and having a "baby taped to their back" would exclude someone from living a normal life.

"Having a child forcibly glued to my back is much worse! A woman can function normally almost until delivery, and for me having a baby glued to my back for six months would completely exclude me from active life!" - explains Korwin-Mikke on Twitter.

It's fair to say that we've become used to Janusz Korwin-Mikke's controversial statements. He recently educated twitterers about natural selection, suggesting that a high infant mortality rate is something very desirable. It’s also worth noting that the politician is under prosecution for inciting the murder of people with left-wing views.

And while, in this context, his statement about estrogen in women can only amuse and prove how little the politician knows about biology and female hormones, comparing raped women to men carrying foetuses on their backs is a huge exaggeration. I understand that Korwin-Mikke for the sake of discussion may be purposefully overexaggerating, but I would like to share some other factors to consider.

A pregnancy resulting from rape or sexual violence is a traumatic event for a woman. It can lead to developing a rape trauma syndrome, the symptoms of which are similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"After rape symptoms of depressive disorders also appear - sadness, isolation, pessimism, anxiety, low self-esteem, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, feelings of guilt," - reports ABC Zdrowie

It is not difficult to imagine that when experiencing sexual violence, the vision of giving a birth and raising the child of the person who hurt us can only exacerbate these symptoms. Comparing such a tragedy to carrying a child glued to your back is not only abstract. It is simply cruel.

Of course no one is arguing that a woman should always terminate her pregnancy after a rape as there is no other way of dealing with such a traumatic event. No one should force anyone to have an abortion. After all, a woman can keep her child if she wants to and what happens must be up to her alone. And definitely not up to a right-wing, conservative politician whose empathy covers only men's problems.

In all of this there is only one thing that puzzles me. How can women who are aware of such cruel statements by Janusz Korwin-Mikke still support him? Applauding a politician who talks about raped women in such a way and compares the mental level of women to that of a cooing child seems very abstract to me.

Sure, we live in a free country, we can vote for whomever we want and support those politicians whose views correspond to the values we hold. However, Korwin-Mikke's numerous statements show that he has no respect for other people and shows particular contempt for women - including his female constituents and female co-workers. On top of this, a person in a public position with such radical and damaging views who represents Poland internationally can only bring us shame.

Source: WP Wiadomości, TVN, ABC Zdrowie