Women in several cities in France have reported being assaulted in the streets by young men in recent weeks, allegedly for wearing skirts. One woman was punched in the face.
Earlier this week, a 22-year-old woman in Strasbourg named Elisabeth was the victim of an assault by three young men, with two holding her while the third man punched her in the face and left her with a black eye.
The victim said the men commented on her skirt before the attack, saying: “Look at that whore in a skirt.”
Around 15 people witnessed the attack, which took place in broad daylight, but no one intervened, broadcaster France Bleu reports.
While the attack garnered attention from English-speaking media such as the BBC, it was not the only assault on young women to take place in a French city in recent weeks.
In the city of Mulhouse, two young women were attacked by an 18-year-old young man on Wednesday. According to the victims, the man accused one of them of wearing shorts that was too short and followed the pair to a tram stop while insulting them.
The teen then slapped one of the girls and pushed her to the ground and grabbed the other girl by the neck before leaving the scene.
Similar scenes have been described by women living in the city of Rennes, with city councillor Anaïs Jehanno saying: “In 2020, young girls no longer dare to walk around Rennes in miniskirts. Night workers are afraid to go home.”
Deputy Mayor for the security of Rennes Lenaïc Brièro said there had been a surge of violence since the Wuhan coronavirus lockdowns, saying: “In Rennes, but also in Paris, Nantes, Bordeaux, Brest… We have to deal with drug trafficking. And also with the presence of young, desocialised foreigners wandering around.”
In Amiens, women from the city shared their experiences of harassment on social media earlier this month including one video that went viral showing two women being harassed and labelled as “whores” for how they were dressed.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.