| Story | 95% of women in Belgium feel unsafe walking in the streets. This staggering figure is just one of the many findings of a survey conducted among 1,000 women by L'Oréal Paris and the non-profit organization 'Touche pas à ma pote'. Insults, intimidation, aggression: street harassment remains an unresolved problem in Brussels, but also in most large urban cities. To draw the attention of the general public and the authorities, and to demand concrete action, independent agency Mutant has come up with a spectacular and hard-hitting stunt. As of today, the Rue Botanique – a dimly lit alley in central Brussels – is adorned with five enormous Christmas light garlands, each featuring motifs dedicated to street harassment against women. The installation depicts what women frequently endure when alone on the streets and voices the collective desire of all women: "All I want for Christmas is safer streets." In recent years, due to cost-cutting measures, public lighting has been increasingly turned off, heightening the sense of insecurity for women. The only lights that are never compromised are the festive holiday decorations. «The idea was to illuminate a street because we know it's part of the solution and simultaneously highlight the problem. Literally. With what everyone loves to admire on the streets: Christmas lights,» explains Jonathan d'Oultremont, creative at Mutant. |
