Orange Day campaign

The statements refer to events that they experienced as victims or witnesses to partner violence. This Orange Day campaign was launched as part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (on 25 November 2018).

In Belgium, it is estimated that 45% of women have been victims of partner violence in their lives. Take a look around you and realize that almost 1 in 2 women may already have been the victim of partner abuse. You may be one of them yourself or have already been trusted in the past by someone who searched your help.

The question, of course, is how to respond to this as a victim or a witness.

Know that you are not alone! There are different aid services:

• In Dutch: External site 1712
• Only in French: External site Ecoute Violences Conjugales - 0800 30 030 (24/7 - free and anonymous)
• Only in French: External site Centre de Prévention des Violences Conjugales et Familiales - accessible on weekdays from 9 am to 7 pm and on weekends from 10 am to 5 pm. Call for an appointment: 02 539 27 44 from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5 pm or by e-mail: info@cpvcf.org or violences.familiales@misc.irisnet.be

Testimony 5

"In our team she has found a lot of support but in vain. Almost every day we try to convince her to look for help, it's a very difficult situation. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it keeps our whole team awake. We feel so powerless."

Testimony 4

"At work they did not know. I only told my colleagues after I had left him. They were amazed because I was always happy at work. I put on a mask every day to hide that I was unhappy."

Testimony 3

"The next day, I went back to work as if nothing had happened. It took me several weeks to tell my colleagues that my relationship was over and I was not living with my partner anymore. I kept it hidden at first because I refused to be included in the statistics. Even today I tell myself that I should have filed a complaint. But having no physical trace of what had happened, I thought it was useless."

Testimony 2

"14 years ago I became a victim of partner violence, I was fortunate enough to have great colleagues at the time, and it was a colleague who took the initiative to arrange an appointment with an association that dealt with such issues. Afterwards, there were many who helped me from near and far to manage the difficult situation."

Testimony 1

"No two hours went by without her partner calling her at work and seizing the opportunity to provoke yet another fight. She was terrorized and did not manage to concentrate on her work until the day she had to report absent for several weeks due to depression."