A group of young people from Liège experienced a traumatic New Year’s Eve in Milan, marked by sexual assaults and a feeling of helplessness in the face of the inaction of the authorities.
Laura Barbier, 21, a student, was traveling with five friends to celebrate the New Year in Milan. The group gathered in the “Piazza del Duomo”, the heart of the Lombard city, despite the absence of fireworks or an official count.
Shortly after midnight, the mood deteriorated. “Young people were shooting fireworks into the crowd. It was very dangerous, we had the impression that something serious was going to happen“, Laura confided to our colleagues at 7sur7. The group quickly felt an unhealthy atmosphere, punctuated by intrusive behavior.
Sexual assaults in a crowd
While trying to take refuge near the galleries surrounding the square, the young people were surrounded by a crowd of around 50 to 100 people. “This is where we suffered the touching. Three out of four girls have been sexually assaulted, including me. They put their hand in my pants“, explains Laura, still in shock. The boys in the group tried to defend their friends, but they were overwhelmed by the number of attackers.
The attackers, aged between 20 and 40 according to testimonies, shouted insults towards Italy and the police. Laura remembers: “We tried to defend ourselves, but it was impossible. Fortunately, an Italian man whose wife had also been attacked helped me get out of the crowd.”
After finding their friends and reporting the attacks to the police, the response from the police was chilling: “They told us it wouldn’t do any good and just said ‘ciao’”
Laura plans to file a complaint in the coming days. “I can’t leave it like this. I thought this kind of thing only happened in movies. I want to denounce these acts to prevent others from experiencing this.“, she says with determination.
milan Liège new year laura touching sexual assault
