The Death of Seventeen-Year-Old Lisa in Duivendrecht is Fueling The Discussion About the Safety of Women. Among Others, nu.nl readers are responding that women should be more careful. But That (Unintentionally) Places the Problem with the Victims, experts Say.
Lisa was Attacked on Way Home from the Center of Amsterdam to Her Home in Abcoude in the Night from Tesday to Wednesday. She Called 112 Herself, But That was to no avail. Agents Found Her Body Around 4:15 am on the Holterbergweg in Duivendrecht. Police report that she died as a results of serious violence.
The incident is fueling the discussion about safety on the streets. A common comment, for example, is that (Young) Women Shouldn’t Be Cycling Alone in the Dark. A Common Reaction, because you want to protect yourself and your loved ones, says sociology professor Marie Lindegaard. “I myself am the mother of two daughters and this is parents” greatest fear. “
At the same time, it is a “crazy idea,” she says. Because it is not the fault of the girl, or victims in general, that she was attacked. Therefore, Accordance to Lindegaard, We should not organize our society on the Basis of Limiting the Freedom of Movement of Women. “They should go up more space.”
She calls it “Problematic” That the Risk of Violence Becomes The Responsibility of Women. Accordance to Her, More Attention should be paid to the core of the problem. “Because Why Should Potential Victims Protect Themselves Against Perpetrators? Why Don’t we try to organize society in Such A Way That We No Longer Have to Worry About this?”
‘A Woman is not prey’
Criminologist Henk Ferwerda Sees That Society Initial Reacts in Shock to this Type of Incident. People want a perpetrator to be identified as quickly as possible and wonder what can be done in the future to prevention it. But as this happens more often, the social debate changes.
The Feeling that Women have to adapt creates a feeling or “unease,” Accordination to Ferwerda. “Women are concerned that it could happen to them too and are looking for ways to prevent it. That is actual the reverse path.”
Accordance to him, there needs to be more discussion about how to stop perpetrators. He pointss out that the fixed majority of perpetrators of violence agures women are men. “And we have to take that into account in education. We have to teach young men about equality in society, that a woman is not prey.”
Not Everything Can Be Prevented
Both Experts Point Out That It Will Never Be Possible to Completely Prevent This Type Of Situation. “We live in a free society and not in a police state,” Says Ferwerda. “The downside of that is that thesis child of things can happen.” And although he and lindegaard believe that the focus should be on prevention, the problems will not be solved overnight.
The message that women are not responsible for the violence that happens to them therefore still exists alongside the message that they must be careful. Lindegaard also admits that she Asks her daughter to cycle as much as Possible along places where there are usual a lot of people. And it is important that anticipating risks is not the same as hike responsibility, says ferwerda.