Belgium/Giant red shoe in the center of Malmedy against violence against women

A dozen associations from the Malmédienne region have been running the White Ribbon campaign in this locality since Monday and until December 6. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the need to combat violence against women.

In Malmedy, the campaign took the form of a giant red shoe installed in front of the town's cathedral. A giant red shoe, a symbol that has already taken the world by storm: " It wasinspired by the work of Mexican artist Elina Chauvet, who took the symbol of the red shoe to represent an object that women are not allowed towear.to represent an object that women don't take when they leave home, so it represents the fact that they have to leave home in a hurry ", explains Adeline Renard, campaign coordinator.

Violence against women doesn't always take the form of physical abuse. It can be more insidious: " When we talk about domestic violence, there are different forms of violence, such as financial violence. In fact, we're talking about the woman's hold over her. So, for example, if a woman doesn't have the choice or the opportunity to choose her own clothes, if she's told what to buy in a store, if her telephone is controlled, that's also domestic violence. So we often talk about feminicide, and unfortunately it's a real tragedy that's happening today, but it's not limited to that. Domestic violence is really a form of control over a woman within a couple ", explains Rachel Gazon, from the Infor Jeunes center in Malmedy.

The shoe is accompanied by signs bearing various slogans. The aim is also to encourage victims not to hesitate to contact a support association, and witnesses to report the facts.

Source: www.rtbf.be/article/