If it looks like gender-based violence, is it gender-based violence?

Walking through Barcelona, ​​I read an official announcement on the tram. It said: "If it looks like gender-based violence, it is gender-based violence."

If we said this phrase in any other context, it would grate on us. Imagine it. "If it looks like a scam, it is a scam," for example. Or "If they seem like a bad person, they are a bad person." Or "If they seem intelligent, they are intelligent." Precisely what observers, journalists, and lawyers tell us is that things must be proven. Someone can appear to be one thing and, in fact, be the opposite. We shouldn't trust appearances.

In cases of gender-based violence, unlike with other forms of violence, we tend to be more lenient. Some banners, also official, told us—I remember it very well—that one compliment (A little flower) is violence. I don't think so. Depending on the context, it could be considered bad manners. If someone threw a disgusting little flower at my daughter, depending on the context, it could be considered violence against that person. But words serve their purpose. They are precise. They matter.

If it seems like gender-based violence, it may or may not be. We'll have to analyze the facts, listen to both sides; the alleged aggressor and the alleged victim. And then, in a court of law, not on a podcast or through a tweet, determine if this is a punishable act. If it is, then the full force of the law should be applied, locking the aggressor up behind bars. Nothing is worse than gender-based violence. But if it isn't, and it seems like it, then we must avoid committing perjury. Because there are sneakers that look authentic but aren't. But they look like it.