An investigation in Germany has uncovered chat groups on the messaging platform Telegram where thousands of men share advice and strategies on committing sexual assault and rape. These groups, which reportedly include up to 70,000 members, communicate primarily in English and appear to involve participants from various countries.

Members of the groups have boasted about assaulting women within their households, including wives, partners,sisters, and mothers. They also share explicit instructions encouraging others to commit similar crimes. Disturbingly, some participants have shared photographs and live videos of these assaults. In one instance, a German man claimed he had sedated his wife and offered her to other group members.

This discovery comes alongside a recent court case in Avignon, France, where Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison for ig his wife, Gisele, and offering her to o.. men online forassault. He also repeatedly assaulted her himself. Over the course of the trial, it was revealed that 50 other men had been involved in these crimes, all of whom were convicted. Gisele Pelicot chose to have the trial conducted publicly to shed light on the prevalence of such abuse. The revelations have raised significant concerns about the role of anonymous online platforms in enabling and facilitating such crimes. Telegram, established in 2013 by Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov, has faced criticism for its strong stance on user privacy, including its refusal to share data with law enforcement agencies, making it a preferred platform for criminal activity.