Protesters placed red shoes on the ground as a symbol of the victims of violence against women |
Around 10,000 people took part in a protest march in Brussels on Sunday calling for an end to violence against women, police said, a day after similar demonstrations in France and Italy.
The
protesters in the Belgian capital paid homage to women killed by partners or
ex-partners, then marched to the Palace of Justice where they placed pairs of
red shoes as a symbol of femicide victims.
"Belgium
is a very complex country with many levels of power; federal, regional and
communal and all these levels of powers do little things to tackle violence
against women. But the main thing we are demanding is a national plan,"
said Celine Caudron, one of the organisers of the protest.
"It is
important to punish the perpetrators but what we want most is that the violence
doesn't happen in the first place."
The
marchers held up placards bearing messages such as "That's enough"
and "Not one more life".
Also
prominent were the names of the 22 women killed by men in Belgium this year.
Outside the
law courts building the demonstrators set off alarms and made noise as a
"protest against the silence" which surrounds the deaths of battered
women.
According
to Mirabal, a Belgium umbrella group of organisation opposing violence against
women, there have been 98 femicides in the country since 2017, a figure
"which, in proportion to the population, is well above the average for
European nations".
Tens of
thousands marched in France and Italy on Saturday calling for an end to
violence against women.
The marches
came ahead of the UN-recognised International day for the Elimination of
Violence Against Women on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.