Brussels police will deploy plainclothes officers across the city from Monday to combat street harassment against women.
Officers will patrol “hotspots” such as public transport stations in the Belgian capital, police spokesman Olivier Slosse told news agency Belga.
“The way women experience public space is one of the central points of our safety plan. Last year, we started training staff on what exactly street harassment is, but also on how to deal with victims of such acts, as well as how to draw up a report,” Slosse said. “Now we are going one step further by going out into the field and actively looking for the perpetrators. The idea is to catch harassers in the act.”
He added that while street harassment is common, “such incidents are rarely reported, and when they are reported, it is difficult to identify the culprit. Even if the perpetrator is identified, it is the victim’s word against hers. Our presence in the field is therefore necessary in order to ascertain these facts.”