Belgium is considering legalising pepper spray for women’s self-protection.
The Belgian Minister for Equality has announced a package of measures to improve street safety, including reclassifying the specific weapon for use in public self defence.
Paving the way for the legalisation of pepper spray, equality minister Rob Beenders told Belgian TV channel VRT
I want women to feel safe on the streets and to be able to go for a walk or a jog in the evening.
The use of the noxious substance has long been a controversial issue in Belgium. Flemish right-wingers Vlaams Belang have pushed for its legalisation for years, but the proposal has consistently met with resistance from other political actors. Despite this, more and more women are carrying pepper spray, especially at night.
The debate was reignited recently after a 17-year-old girl in the Netherlands was brutally killed by a man who had been following her for some time. The murder has revived discussions about legalisation of pepper spray, not only in the Netherlands but also in Belgium.
The initiative forms part of a broader new approach, as Belgium faces a serious public safety crisis. Brussels has been hit by a spate of drug-related shootings—20 such attacks occurred this summer alone—and similar crimes are also widespread in other large cities.
In a recent interview with L’Echo, Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said he wants to deploy soldiers on the streets of Belgium’s major cities to curb the rising violence. As part of the plan, €20 million will be spent on new CCTV camera systems.
The government will also expand street lighting, much of which had been switched off during the energy crisis. The Ministry of Equal Opportunities further stressed that the behaviour of young men must change—a challenge in which social media plays a major role.
