Expatica news

Belgian news in brief, 30 March 2006

10pc of Belgian women had abortion

One in 10 Belgian women have undergone an abortion, consumer association Test-Aankoop said on Wednesday. It said half of those women were younger than 24 at the time. Abortion was legalised in Belgium 15 years ago.

Free public transport on offer

Brussels Transport Minister Pascal Smet has proposed giving the capital’s commuters free public transport if they decide to give up their cars. Smet hopes the offer will encourage more people to abandon their vehicles in favour of public transport. If commuters hand in their car number plate, they will be given a season ticket to Brussels buses, trams and metro. Some 30,000 people have already availed of a similar scheme in the five Flemish provinces outside Brussels.

Protest against extra Sunday shopping

Some 1,500 people protested in Brussels on Thursday against a federal government decision to increase the number of Sunday shop opening days from three to nine. Protestors gathered at 11am at Central Station and marched to the office of Employment Minister Peter Vanvelthoven. Union LBC-NVK said only militant unionists had been called to participate in the first of its demonstrations.

Mum punished for daughter’s sex life

A Kortrijk Court judge has sentenced a mother to a suspended one-year jail term and EUR 2,750 fine for letting her 14-year-old daughter have sex in her home with a 25-year-old man. The court ruled that the woman facilitated the illegal sexual act by allowing it to happen in the family home. However, a criminal law and sexuality specialist at Leuven Catholic University, Liesbet Stevens, said it was “severe” sentence, particularly given “the period in which we live”.

[Copyright Expatica News 2006]

Subject: Belgian news