Demonstration in Brussels to call for end to violence against women
The Mirabal platform of civil society organisations is calling for people to join its annual march in Brussels on Sunday, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The platform was created in 2017 to mobilise against violence against women. Every year since then, it has organised demonstrations in Brussels around 25 November. About 5,000 people are expected to set off from Brussels Central station at 14.00 on Sunday, with a village of associations present from midday on the Mont des Arts.
"In a society where women are believed to be responsible for the violence they suffer, this violence takes place in all areas of women's lives: in the street, in the family, at work, in the intimacy of their private lives as well as in the legal and political spheres," the group says. "Gender-based violence affects us all."
Despite recent reform of the sexual criminal code, the "Stop Femicide" Bill and the establishment of a national action plan to combat gender-based violence, there is still work to be done, Mirabal says. Violence against women persists, as evidenced by the 24 femicides already committed in Belgium this year, according to the Stop Féminicides blog.
The platform also points out that “women are more likely to be found in sectors and occupations that are less valued and less well paid than men”, which it describes as economic violence. It is calling for these professions to be upgraded, particularly in healthcare, teaching and early childhood care.
Demonstrators march in Brussels against gender-based violence, November 2022 © PHOTO ANA FERNANDEZ/SOPA IMAGES VIA ZUMA PRESS WIRE
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