Brussels functionaries don ribbon to fight violence against women

Brussels secretary of state for equal opportunities Bruno De Lille yesterday gave away 30,000 white-ribbon badges to Brussels region civil servants to mark International Day against Violence against Women.

“This is a day which by rights should no longer exist,” De Lille said. “Not a single woman should have to pretend she walked into a door or fell downstairs. But we know reality is something different, which is why we need to keep up the fight, day after day, because violence is quite simply unacceptable.”

Violence against women is one of the world's most common crimes, De Lille said, with figures suggesting seven out of ten have been victim at some point of physical, verbal, emotional or economic aggression.

“Too often we think of this as something that doesn't affect us, that we know neither abusers nor victims. Sadly that's too often not true,” De Lille said. “That's why it's so important to make people aware, because violence against women is something to which no-one may close his eyes. That violence is not a problem only for the victims, but for all of us.”

Elsewhere in Brussels, around 100 women took part in a march from the Central Station to the Justice Palace to launch a new campaign against rape. “In 2012 there were more than eight rapes a day in this country,” organisers said. “Yet the crime remains largely under the radar, as research has shown that nine out of ten victims do not report the attack.” The campaign calls for a new way of thinking about rape in the justice and penal systems, as well as among women themselves, and includes a new website where women can tell their story in confidence as well as seek support and counselling.

www.parolescontreviol.be

www.ikzwijgnietmeer.be