“Why don’t you get in the car and I’ll show you a good time”

I have been living in Brussels for over five years. I initially moved there because the university I attended was situated there. After I got my degree, I decided to stay because it was close to work and I liked the atmosphere. I have always loved Brussels but this started to change around two years ago.

Brussels is dealing with a lot of immigrants from North-Africa that are unemployed and spend their days outside on the street or in tearooms. My story has nothing to do with racism, but rather with a misogynistic mentality and a country in crisis that doesn’t want to deal with it’s problems. For a lot of women like myself, it’s almost impossible to walk the streets alone, unless she enjoys men following her in little groups, whispering degrading things in her ear, being spit on when she talks back, or how about the casual push on the tram or subway and last but not least being called a slut or a whore on a daily basis.

This no joke. It has come to a point where I’m afraid to walk around by myself, I don’t even want to do my grocery shopping alone, I feel trapped in my own apartment because from the moment you open that front door the name calling begins.

I catch myself spending a lot of time deciding what to wear the next day so they wouldn’t notice me. Not only is it sad that I have to adjust my outfit because they can’t handle the view of a female body but a lot of the time It doesn’t even matter!!! You can wear a potato bag and still get comments. It’s an awful feeling that you can’t wear what you want because you’re afraid you might be harassed. I always wear long, wide coats so they can hardly tell how my figure looks like, even in summer I’m afraid to wear a t-shirt that isn’t long enough to cover my bottom. Since I have long hair, I try to put my hair up so I don’t draw to much attention. You’re probably thinking that I think of myself as the most attractive girl that walks the streets of Brussels and that I have to cover up in order to protect myself. I’m afraid to tell you that for a lot of women here this is daily reality.

Last week I was obligated to take the bus home. I was waiting at the bus stop when three guys in car suddenly stopped beside me. One of the guys started yelling obscenities at me like, “Why don’t you get in the car and I’ll show you a good time at my place.”

I eventually ignored it, but soon the insults started to be thrown around. When I told him to go **** himself, he yelled at me for being a filthy whore, that he was gonna beat the hell out of me the next time he crosses me. At that point, the bus arrived and I quickly got on.

Situations like this happens on a weekly basis. Being called a whore or a slut, is already part of my daily walk to work. What bothers me is that no one ever helps or stands up for you. No woman deserves to be treated this way.

I don’t know what to do and I’m counting the days until I can move away from this sick and offensive place.

Thank you for reading,

– Anonymous

Location: Brussels, Belgium