A viral video showing a stripper getting pelted with eggs at a bachelor party reflects and reinforces the power of men over women in Maltese society, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) has argued.

“The pelting of a woman with eggs was a sorry spectacle of domination and humiliation, reflecting and reinforcing the power of men over women in Maltese society,” the NCPE said in a statement. “This is closely linked to the constant representation of women as objects for men’s pleasure and the broader unequal power-relations between women and men that legitimise and normalize such behaviour.”

“This video is evidence of the urgent need to work towards a society where women and men enjoy equally dignified treatment, so that everyone can feel safe and respected in everyday life. The NCPE urges the authorities to take the necessary actions.”

The video, which went viral on WhatsApp last weekend, showed a group of men and a child pelting several eggs at the stripper and the groom-to-be. The stripper could be heard swearing at the men, calling them bastards and savages and telling them they’re hurting her.

However, the stripper insisted the incident was a joke to which she had given her full consent and urged people not to interfere with her personal life choices.

In its statement, the NCPE said the argument that the “abuse” was perpetrated with the stripper’s consent doesn’t change the essence of the incident, which is that “a group of men felt entitled to ‘buy’ a potentially vulnerable woman and took pleasure in assaulting her, ridiculing her and violating her dignity. Moreover, the video shows the woman begging the abusers to stop. This was meant to be a celebration of one of the men’s upcoming marriage to another woman.”

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