The Austrian writer and performer Karin Schmid presents an adapted online version of her one-woman theatre show TABOO. This virtual reading gives a chilling glimpse into the work of protagonist Käthe Petersen, a little known but very influential head of a social department in Hamburg during WWII.

Käthe Petersen persecuted women not living up to her ideal image of womanhood. Her method of re-educating ‘fallen women’ included forced sterilization, forced labour and forced placement. In her fight against venereal diseases, she targeted only women while the state installed brothels in the military training grounds, at the front and even in concentration camps. Female sexuality was ether suppressed or utilized. Against the backdrop of the historical figure of Käthe Petersen, TABOO puts the concept of female sexual self-determination up for discussion.

The play focuses on double standards of society and aims to raise awareness for violence against women.