Over the period 2023-2024, the public prosecutor ranked four in ten sexual violence in Belgium.
Four in ten sexual violence affairs classified without follow-up in Belgium, this is what emerges from a response from the Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) to a parliamentary question of the deputy Sophie de Wit (N-VA).
The figures, which reflect the situation at the beginning of January 2025, also show that, in nine in ten cases, they were classified without follow -up for “Technical reasons”. This could imply, for example, insufficient evidence or an unknown author.
I find it completely weird that such reasons are invoked
The remaining 10% was classified without follow -up for reasons of opportunity. In this case, the prosecution argues a “Limited social impact”a “Lack of history” or refers to “Young age of the suspect”.
“I find it completely bizarre that such reasons are invoked for serious crimes such as rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, obscenity, pedophilia and incest”reacted Sophie de Wit in a press release.
A long path
According to the MP, the low rate of prosecution shows that there is still a lot of work to do in the fight against sexual violence. “If we want to increase the number of proceedings, we must focus more on better evidence collection. This can only be done by providing better support for victims and removing obstacles to reporting. I call prosecutors to pursue cases of sexual violence in the future.”
A large part of the files were still in the survey phase at the start of 2025 (30%) and had therefore not yet evolved towards a next phase. In addition, business can be resolved by other means, in particular by mediation.
Sexual violence investigation for rape affair classified crimes Belgium Annelies Verlinden Sophie de Wit
