This video analyzes the growing role of emotions in the public sphere and examines their effects on democracy and the fight against violence, particularly sexual violence. In the age of social media, emotions have become central tools for capturing attention: indignation, anger, or fear are amplified, monetized, and sometimes exploited for political or commercial purposes.
Drawing on recent work by CEPREMAP, the video shows that emotional appeals are playing an increasingly prominent role in political discourse, to the detriment of rational debate and factual analysis. This "politics of emotion" weakens democratic processes by fostering polarization and oversimplifying complex issues.
When applied to sexual violence, this phenomenon produces ambivalent effects. Emotions, particularly outrage, can mobilize and drive action. But when they dominate without any critical distance, they can also paralyze, fuel hate speech, encourage simplistic or counterproductive responses, and make individuals—including professionals—more vulnerable to ideological manipulation.
The video emphasizes that shock and anger are legitimate human reactions to violence, but they are insufficient for building effective responses. Without analysis, nuance, and support from scientific data, emotion can reinforce violence instead of preventing it.
To move beyond this logic of "emotional democracy," two key levers are highlighted: the development of emotional intelligence, to recognize and regulate one's own feelings, and media literacy, to learn how to decipher emotional discourse, verify sources, and resist manipulation. These skills, notably cultivated from childhood in educational programs, are presented as essential for preserving democratic debate and sustainably strengthening violence prevention.