Zuhal Demir wants a Centre against Sexual Violence in every province

“It is important that we as a society send the message that we are on the side of the victims of sexual violence.” Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities Zuhal Demir wants to seize on the success of the trial project with three Centres against Sexual Violence to advocate that there should be one such centre in every province. Since the three Centres against Sexual Violence were set up in Ghent, Brussels and Liège a year ago, no fewer than 1,000 victims have gone to them for assistance.

A third are minors

The number exceeds the initial expectation. “We expected 600 victims, but the number was actually 1,000. That is almost a third of the number of registered cases of rape,” says Zuhal Demir. A third of the victims who sought assistance are minors. “That is a high number and it once again clearly shows the need for these centres,” says Secretary of State Zuhal Demir.

Filing an official police report on-site

At the centres, the victims are given psychological and medical care. “Another important factor is that the victims can file an official police report right there at the centres. And two thirds indeed do so, which is a strikingly high proportion. In the past, victims were sent from pillar to post. Now they can file an official police report on-site and we can already start gathering evidence at the centres. That is important in order to be able to open a legal case file in order to punish the perpetrators,” Zuhal Demir concludes.