Street Harassment in Belgium: The Reality for Women and What Needs to Change

2023-12-22 05:19:01

In the streets of Belgium, 95% of women say they sometimes feel in danger, according to a survey published Friday and carried out among 1,000 women by the international initiative Stand Up Against Street Harassment, led by Right to Be and L’Oréal Paris, in collaboration with the Belgian organization Touche Pas À Ma Pote, which fights once morest street harassment once morest women.

15% of them rarely or never feel safe in public spaces in Belgium. In Wallonia, this figure rises to 23%. 83% of the women surveyed said they had already been harassed in the streets of the country and 80% had witnessed these events. One in three say they regularly receive insulting remarks or comments regarding their appearance. In Wallonia, verbal violence and harassment affect nearly one in four women. In Flanders, it’s a little more than one woman in ten.

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One in five women have already been followed on the street in Belgium and one in three in Brussels. If women under 34 are most confronted with these situations, the figures remain problematic for older age groups.

To try to escape street harassment, 90% of women change their behavior. For those under 34, this figure reaches 97%. “The most common precautions consist of avoiding specific places and times, taking other means of transport, adapting their clothing style, talking to someone on the phone or walking faster,” points out the survey . Some carry objects as weapons, such as pepper sprays, knives or even brass knuckles disguised as key chains or cosmetics. Also, 42% of Brussels residents and 32% of Belgian women keep their keys on hand to protect themselves.

Street harassment of women
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