A feminist collective calls for an evening of boycott of bars and a demonstration on Friday in Brussels, judging that the question of sexual assault in these places of exit is not taken seriously enough, according to a press release released on Monday.
At the origin of the hashtag #Balancetonbar, which for a month on Instagram has generated a wave of testimonies from victims of assault, these activists question in a letter the 19 burgomasters (mayors) of the Brussels region.
They ask for the support of the judiciary and the nightlife to fight against what they present as “systemic sexual violence” in the bars and clubs of the Belgian capital.
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“We demand to live without the weight of being in perpetual danger and in all places.
We want a radical and immediate change, because this scourge has raged for too many centuries and we can no longer tolerate it ”, writes in this letter the collective baptized“ Inclusive and self-managed feminist union ”(Ufia), mixing associations and activists defending the women and gender minorities (LGBTQIA +).
"Identify, file, sanction"
The authorities must in particular be able to "identify, file and systematically sanction problematic establishments and staff members" as soon as a report of sexual violence is provided to them, estimates Ufia.
As for the call for a boycott for Friday, it is justified thus in a video where a member of the collective addresses, face hidden, to a bar owner: "The only way to make you react is to touch your precious door. -cash ".
The rally is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the center of Brussels.
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This movement, which spread to France, was born in early autumn in Belgium when several cases of attacks against women were made public in two bars in a student district of Ixelles, not far from the campus of the 'Free University of Brussels.
Drugged without their knowledge?
Some women suspect their alleged abuser, bartender or staff member, of unwittingly drugging them before taking action.
Several complaints have been lodged, the Brussels public prosecutor's office said last month, which opened an investigation.
Asked on Monday, the prosecution refused to comment on the ongoing investigations.
As with every complaint concerning sexual offenses, the investigators work in a "thorough and meticulous" manner respecting the presumption of innocence of the suspect (s), the prosecution had to justify in a press release on October 20.
Justice was then already accused of not treating complaints seriously enough.