It was determined that the “alarm button” application, which was started to be implemented in Belgium to prevent femicides, was significantly successful and enabled many women to get rid of the attack at the last moment.
In Belgium, 9 out of 10 femicides are committed after the ex-spouses’ pursuit. For this reason, 27 women who feel threatened carry an alarm button under their clothes, which immediately alerts the police in case of danger.
The government is preparing to make the application active all over the country.
The “tele alarm” application, which was first implemented in the city of Ghent for trial purposes, later started to be implemented in some other cities in the Flemish region.
In the East and West Flemish regions, a total of 27 women currently wear alarm buttons that make them feel safe.
The alarm button consists of a 2 euro (metal 1 lira) device that women can attach to a bra strap or any part of their clothing. The system connected to the 112 Emergency application instantly sends the current location to the police as soon as the button is pressed.
Project manager and chief inspector of police, Marianne De Vuyst, told the HLN newspaper that the alarm carried by the women was a high priority and police rushed to the scene immediately.
According to the Belgian official, women can seek help from the police 24/7 without the need for a smartphone and without attracting attention, and victims are reached within 10 minutes at the latest.
In Belgium, 22 thousand reports of harassment are made by women every year, 62 percent of them by ex-spouses or lovers. Most of the victims are women between the ages of 30-40.
In Gent, where the pilot was started, 22 calls for help were made through the alarm system in about 1 year. As a result of the intervention of the police, 11 people were detained.
According to the chief inspector of police, suspects usually feel guilty and calm down after a few days in custody and appearing before a judge.
However, more dangerous suspects are put in prison to prevent them from posing a threat.
Currently, 17 women in Ghent and a total of 27 women throughout Belgium carry alarm buttons.
According to project manager De Vuyst, ex-spouses or lovers still see themselves as “masters” of the woman they broke up with. Therefore, a lot of effort goes into introducing the alarm button to the male stalking victim.
Emphasizing that women feel a sense of confidence again with the alarm system, De Vuyst offers the following suggestions to women who are still followed by their ex-spouses or lovers:
- Do not talk to the attacker and try to persuade him. Say ‘no’ or ‘enough’ clearly.
- Block your phone number and email address and change your login codes and account number.
- If your follower is at your door frequently, place a camera.
- Keep a diary; When was the contact? Why? Why? Where was he? And what was said? note them all.
- Inform your employer and your close circle about this.
Sexual and domestic violence training for judges
Belgian Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, said that they will soon start implementing the alarm button in Antwerp (Antwerp). Then, an alarm will be applied to male victims of stalking, especially in Brussels, Liège and the rest of the country.
Van Quickenborne said the pilot showed that the alarm button works quite well in life-threatening situations, stressing that “a culture change” still needs to be made in this regard.
Belgium’s Minister of Justice said that, in addition to executing the alarm, 2,058 magistrates were also given a course in which they learned “the impact of sexual and domestic violence on human life” in order to better understand the situation of the victims.