!IMPACT

Street harassment is a persistent problem. Public spaces are supposed to be accessible to anyone, but for many girls and LGBTQ+ individuals, street harassment has restricted their freedom to navigate these spaces freely. For instance, 83% of Dutch girls (aged 16 to 27) have faced unwanted sexual behavior in public (Plan International, 2023). Of these girls, 63% admit these experiences limit their freedom. They might avoid public transport, hobbies, or sports clubs—and sometimes even miss school or work because of it.

 

Even though the new Sexual Offenses Act—making street sexual harassment punishable by law— came into effect effect on July 1st, 2024, it doesn’t solve all challenges. In fact, only 1 in 10 girls report unwanted sexual experiences to the police.

With Intimideermijniet We aim to make it easier to speak up and report street harassment. Whether you’ve experienced it yourself or witnessed it, reporting your incident helps raise awareness and shed light on street harassment in Breda.

What happens to your report?

When you submit a report, you help us collect valuable information. Together with the municipality of Breda, we use this data to improve safety measures. Thanks to these reports, we’ve already made progress in:

• Identifying various hotspots where additional law enforcement is now in place.
• Expanding camera surveillance in Valkenberg Park.
• Opening conversations with local partners, like bars and restaurants, to address this issue.

Want to make a bigger impact?

Your report to us is safe and can be done anonymously, but it’s different from filing a police report or a complaint with an Anti-Discrimination Facility (ADV: abbreviation for the Anti-Discrimination Facility in Dutch). Your report is incredibly helpful to us, and if you want, you can make an even greater impact. We work closely with the local ADV and police, but we encourage you to also report the incident directly to them or file a formal complaint.

At ADVs like RADAR, you can report various types of discrimination, including intimidation. These reports are immediately included in the national discrimination database. This means that your voice not only contributes to Breda, but all across the Netherlands. Alternatively, you can report through Discriminatie.nl, a platform connecting different anti-discrimination offices across the country.

Since sexual harassment in the streets is now a criminal offense, you have the option to file a police report. If you feel nervous or unsure about taking this step, we’re here to help. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@intimideermijniet.nl.

How to stay in the loop?

Want to keep updated on street harassment in Breda, Intimideermijniet, and our campaigns? Then go to our Instagram and Facebook channel via this link. Here we share tips and tricks on how you can contribute to this movement.