‘Sexism in the Public Space,’ Belgian Man Verbally Abused a Police Officer Over her Gender! Convicted in First of a Kind Case
Violation of the law can lead to a prison sentence of up to one year and a fine of up to 10,000 euros!
In the time of the celebrations of the International Women’s Day 2018, a news has come about an incident in Brussels which serves good hope. A Belgian court convicted a man of sexism in public place. The man verbally abused a female police officer in Brussels and was imposed with a fine for the same. The man was pulled over by an officer for a violation of the highway code. He was charged with a fine of £2,700 and on failure to pay the same, he would have to face prison term for a month!
“Shut your mouth, I don’t talk to women, being a police officer is not a job for women,” the man told the female police officer during the arrest, according to Gilles Blondeau, a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office. He was then arrested and charges were filed against him. The Belgian statute had a law against sexism in a public place since 2014. The bill defined sexism as a remark or action that is “intended to express contempt”, suggests someone is inferior due to their gender or is designed to “reduce someone to his or her sexual dimension.” There would be a prosecution against the crime if it violates the dignity of someone. Violation of the law can lead to a prison sentence of up to one year and a fine of up to 10,000 euros! This also has its share of criticism considering racism.
The first conviction under this took place in June 2016, when an arrest was made for insulting a police officer due to her gender. The newspaper Le Soir states, “He was convicted of a serious violation of the dignity of the person because of her sex, and the use of threats.” Blondeau was quoted, “This is the first time we have used this law to prosecute someone. It is quite common for people arrested by the police to insult and threaten. But to personally blame a policewoman because of her sex is special. It was a good case to test this law: a concrete and very clear case, with many witnesses.” The case had gone unnoticed then until a legal magazine published it. It is now getting a lot of coverage in the highlight of the various movements regarding gender equality.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2018 01:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).