A man who insulted a cop due to her gender is the first to be convicted of sexism in a public place
A Belgian man has the dubious distinction of being the first person in his country to be convicted of "sexism in a public place." According to media reports, he verbally harassed a female police officer who had stopped him for jaywalking. If the man fails to pay the 3,000 euro fine, approximately 240,450 rupees, he could go to jail. Though the verdict was handed down last November, it had mostly gone unreported until this week.
The unnamed man was stopped in June 2016 for jaywalking and told the female police officer that her job did not suit women.
"Shut your mouth, I don't talk to women, being a police officer is not a job for women,"
New York Times reported the man as saying. The officer immediately arrested him and filed charges. There were other police officers at the scene - all men - but the man directed his comments only at the woman officer.
He was convicted of a "serious violation of the dignity of the person because of her sex."
"This is the first time we have used this law to prosecute someone. It is quite common for people arrested by the police to insult and threaten. But to personally blame a policewoman because of her sex is special. It was a good case to test this law: a concrete and very clear case, with many witnesses,"
The Guardian quoted Gilles Blondeau, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office, as saying.
In 2014, Belgium passed a law against sexism in a public place following outrage over a documentary called
Femme De La Rue, or
Woman Of The Street, that exposed the harassment faced daily by women on the streets of Brussels. According to the
BBC, the law condemns any act or statement meant to "express contempt," that considers a person inferior due to their gender. This is the first conviction under that groundbreaking law.Click for more
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