Camino de Compostela –
Women denounce “terrifying” sexual harassment
Nine pilgrims claim to have been victims of harassment and sexual assault on isolated sections of the route between France, Spain and Portugal.
The paths of Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle are attracting more and more women.
AFP
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The famous route to Santiago de Compostela attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year in search of spirituality and self-improvement. The adventure appeals to a growing number of women, but for some it has turned into a nightmare. “The Guardian” collected the testimonies of nine women who claim to have been victims of sexual assault or harassment during their pilgrimage.
Rosie, 25, says she was in a forest in Portugal when she came across a man without pants, who was looking at her while masturbating. She calls the local police, who don’t pick up. “It was terrifying,” she confided to the British media. “I felt completely alone.”
“The Camino is extraordinary, because it is difficult, physically and mentally demanding. But this additional element that women hikers face, this huge safety issue, completely affects their ability to take on these other challenges or enjoy them the way other people do,” she explains. A feeling of vulnerability shared by many women who set out on the roads of Compostela alone.
An “endemic” problem
Like Rosie, six other women claim to have come across men “masturbating” or “touching themselves” near the path. Another said she resisted touching and lewd comments from several men, while the ninth witness said an individual stopped near her in a van and urged her to get in.
For Lorena Gaibor, founder of Camigas – an online forum for women on pilgrimage to Compostela – these testimonies are not surprising. “Sexual harassment is endemic on the Camino. It seems very common. Every year, we receive testimonies from women who experience the same thing,” she explains to the British media.
The reported incidents typically occurred while victims were walking alone on remote stretches of the Camino de Santiago. Of the nine women who spoke to the Guardian, six reported the incidents to the police. In only one case was the perpetrator found and prosecuted.
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