Lecture & Discussion: Christina Clemm — An Indignant Plea
Christina Clemm brilliantly illustrates where we, as a society, are falling short when it comes to violence—and how a future based on solidarity and justice is possible.
Moderator: Andrea Zimmermann
“Christina Clemm says what we don’t want to hear: Violence reflects the social conditions in which it occurs. What we need to know, what we can do—it’s all in this urgently needed book.” – Maria Furtwängler
One by one, they rise to their feet. The representatives of the prosecution, the representatives of the joint plaintiffs, the defense attorneys. They deliver their closing arguments. Christina Clemm has fought countless times for the victims’ truth, fighting for justice on behalf of relatives, the abused, the trafficked, and the raped. And she is certain: What happens in courtrooms concerns us all. Every case touches on central social issues—racism, sexism, migration, hatred, anger, grief, guilt, punishment—that extend far beyond our legal system. In this deeply personal plea, Christina Clemm takes us inside the courtroom and shows where we, as a society, are failing—and how a future built on solidarity and justice is possible.
Christina Clemm studied law in Freiburg and Berlin and works as a specialist attorney in family and criminal law. For nearly 30 years, she has represented people affected by gender-based, sexualized, racist, anti-LGBTIQ, and far-right violence. She was a member of the BMJV’s expert commission on the reform of sexual criminal law and has been invited multiple times as an expert witness to public hearings in the Bundestag. In 2025, she was named “Book Woman of the Year.”
Part of the “Girl, Woman, Other” series. A joint series with the Heinrich Böll Foundation Baden-Württemberg
Co-organizer: Literaturhaus Freiburg
In cooperation with: Amica e.V., Soroptimist Club Freiburg, Bücherfrauen Freiburg
