She receives between 250 and 300 messages every day. Yes, every day, 250 to 300 testimonies sent by victims of rape, sexual assault or revenge porn. This 20-year-old Brussels girl launched “#BalanceTonWilly“, a Twitter account which in 5 days became a space for expression for all these victims.
“I grew up in Brussels and I’m only 20 years old, but I’ve seen too much, I’ve heard too many stories, confides in us the founder who was herself a victim of rape at 9 years old and, more recently, of revenge porn. Justice is not efficient and they know it, those who are doing all this. It has almost become normal for a girl to be insulted, posted on social media, or raped. Nothing is happening.“
“They feel untouchable“
This is one more story that will convince her to create #BalanceTonWilly. Because, Willy, it is a fake name that a man used on social networks, and it is he who will be the trigger.
►►► Read also : One in two Belgians are victims of sexual violence
“It was just a week ago, this guy made a date with a girl in his car. When she entered, he was not alone, there was another man. He offered to go directly to a hotel, which she refused. In exchange for what, they abandoned her on a motorway rest area. She was stuck there, so when they came back a little later, she went up with them. They took her back to an apartment and abused her.“
“This testimony began to circulate on Confiradio (an Instagram account created during confinement, editor’s note) and there I said to myself, no, stop, it’s too much. And the two guys even reacted later on live video on a network, with their faces uncovered. It shows that they feel untouchable.“
Today, with the help of two other people, the Brussels woman sorts and processes 30 to 40 messages a day, as many testimonials that she anonymizes before posting them on Twitter. “Unfortunately, we can’t read them all.“
Contact with the police
In 5 days, the account gathered more than 7000 subscribers and also attracted the attention of the Brussels police. “When I saw a message from the police, I was first afraid … But they actually congratulated me and urged me to encourage victims to file a complaint.“
►►► Read also : “I blame the police more than my rapist”
But the creator of #BalanceTonWilly concludes: “If a girl does write to a stranger on Twitter to tell her story, there is certainly a need, but it is also often that her journey to justice is difficult or has not. successful …“.
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We can only encourage anyone to report the act (s) of sexual assault of which they were the victim to the police station of their choice. Also, we invite you to consulthttps://t.co/I7qmzJRjbM
which is full of useful information in the face of this painful ordeal– PolBru (@zpz_polbru) August 14, 2020
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