Psychiatrist Links Youth Violence to 'Masculine Counter-Movement' and 'Martial Male Structures'

Psychiatrist Jutta Leth attributes the increasing trend of excessive violence among young people to a complex interplay of factors, including a "masculine counter-movement to emancipation" and the resurgence of "martial male structures." Her analysis follows a recent stabbing incident in Vienna where a 12-year-old severely injured a 15-year-old.

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We see in the past years an increase in stab and violent injuries, and what strikes me particularly and worries me: The affected persons – both on the perpetrator and victim side – are getting younger on average.

Leth observes that the age of individuals involved in violent incidents, both as perpetrators and victims, is decreasing. She notes that while such cases were rare a decade ago, children are now resorting to knives at a younger age. This, she posits, is exacerbated by the easier availability of weapons like knives to very young individuals.

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Cases like this, where a child of this young age from primary school or just entering puberty resorts to a knife, were an absolute rarity ten, 15 years ago in my experience.

The psychiatrist suggests that influences from archaic patriarchal cultures, which are now entering Europe relatively unfiltered through migration, contribute to the formation of parallel structures for conflict resolution. These can include religiously fundamentalist judicial systems and online influencers advocating violence. Furthermore, Leth points to the "martial male structures and rituals" being revived by the far-right in Europe, which promote rigid and aggressive notions of masculinity as an identity anchor, linking feelings of grievance to simplistic enemy images.

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This development is a product of a multifactorial genesis of various influencing factors, to which young people and young men are extremely receptive.

Leth also identifies "male losers of the education system" in modern societies, often termed "modernization losers." These individuals, she explains, may use violence and toxic masculinity to compensate for perceived deficits in their daily lives, seeking a position they feel is appropriate but unattainable through their social skills or careers.

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So there is a masculine counter-movement to emancipation and the women's movement, which is fed by various sources. Among them are male images from archaic cultures, which have been purely patriarchal for centuries and have now come to Europe relatively unfiltered through immigration.