C
camino4me
Guest
Dear Ivar and the members of Camino de Santiago forum,
First of all I would like to thank Ivar for setting up this forum for all of us, the Camino lovers, to ask questions, exchange knowledge, share the support as well as the magic experience of the Camino.
Thank you for all the members of this forum to take the time and share their thoughts and advises to each other.
I'm a Canadian Vietnamese, living in Vancouver, BC. I love long walks and hiking and I am passionate about walking on the Camino. I walked 4 short routes of the Camino, and half of the French Camino on my own, mostly alone and I came out of it safe and sound. Regardless that I began my walk with the naivety that this road is a pilgrimage road and according to most comments I found on the internet and this forum that it is perfectly safe for a woman to walk alone. Moreover, I found peace, strength, kindness and camaraderie on this spiritual path and I long to come back to it.
In light of the recent missing of Denise Thiem and the increased reports of sexual harassment in the form of exhibitionists, sexual assaults and attempt rapes on the camino, I feel that all the advises and comments here in the forum are diverse and based on personal opinions. In some threads, I notice an air of ridicule , smirks and critics of spreading fears, which I am not agreed with. Sexual crimes are serious regardless where it happens. We should not take it lightly, especially on the Camino where the women walkers are double vulnerable because they are in a foreign country, lack of language and support. In fact, I read a few comments from the victims who said they didn't report the sexual crime happened to them, either to the police (due to the language barrier and their distrust to the authority in Spain) or to this forum(to avoid being ridicule because of spreading fear). Instead of just passively throw our opinions around here, I would like to see some meaningful actions. What can we do as a community to prevent and counteract with the sexual predators that attack woman on the camino?
I have the following questions/ suggestions:
1. Can we contact the pilgrim office in Santiago and all the associations of pilgrims associated with the Camino to request a communication to the local authorities along the Camino about the sexual harassment to have a formal acknowledgement of the police about this crime?
2. Can the pilgrim office request a clear guide from the Spanish police department of what to do, what number to call, where to report and what the procedure is. Is there a distress/ emergency line in English. Or what is the solution for non Spanish speakers. These informations are essential and accessible for pilgrims and posted clearly at all albergues.
3. On this forum, we need to have a thread for people who had been victims of sexual crimes to report/ alarm of their experience with full respect and support. We should encourage and show appreciation to the women who have the courage to report their frightening experience to alarm and to protect other women as well as all pilgrims who alert us about crimes happening on the camino. Safety and saving life is the utmost importance.
Supposedly, there is fear and if fear saves women's lives, or save them from the sexual violation, why not? Fear itself is not a negative thing, what one choose to do about it is where it shows positivity or negativity, and that remains a personal choice. I quoted it before and I repeat it here again, according to Gavin de Becker, fear is actually a gift that can save one's life! His book" The Gift of Fear", is widely known. Truly and importantly, raising the awareness is not spreading fear.
4. How can we raise this concern effectively to the pilgrim office, to the police?
5. How can we inform other pilgrims who are not on this forum? Non- English speaking pilgrim?
6. The Communication and guideline regarding this matter should be post at all albergues from starting points and along the way. Besides Spanish it should be translated a different languages including, English, French, German, Korean, Chinese and Japanese.
I don't know what can be done? What can I do? What can you do?
Please let me know.
Best,
Helen
First of all I would like to thank Ivar for setting up this forum for all of us, the Camino lovers, to ask questions, exchange knowledge, share the support as well as the magic experience of the Camino.
Thank you for all the members of this forum to take the time and share their thoughts and advises to each other.
I'm a Canadian Vietnamese, living in Vancouver, BC. I love long walks and hiking and I am passionate about walking on the Camino. I walked 4 short routes of the Camino, and half of the French Camino on my own, mostly alone and I came out of it safe and sound. Regardless that I began my walk with the naivety that this road is a pilgrimage road and according to most comments I found on the internet and this forum that it is perfectly safe for a woman to walk alone. Moreover, I found peace, strength, kindness and camaraderie on this spiritual path and I long to come back to it.
In light of the recent missing of Denise Thiem and the increased reports of sexual harassment in the form of exhibitionists, sexual assaults and attempt rapes on the camino, I feel that all the advises and comments here in the forum are diverse and based on personal opinions. In some threads, I notice an air of ridicule , smirks and critics of spreading fears, which I am not agreed with. Sexual crimes are serious regardless where it happens. We should not take it lightly, especially on the Camino where the women walkers are double vulnerable because they are in a foreign country, lack of language and support. In fact, I read a few comments from the victims who said they didn't report the sexual crime happened to them, either to the police (due to the language barrier and their distrust to the authority in Spain) or to this forum(to avoid being ridicule because of spreading fear). Instead of just passively throw our opinions around here, I would like to see some meaningful actions. What can we do as a community to prevent and counteract with the sexual predators that attack woman on the camino?
I have the following questions/ suggestions:
1. Can we contact the pilgrim office in Santiago and all the associations of pilgrims associated with the Camino to request a communication to the local authorities along the Camino about the sexual harassment to have a formal acknowledgement of the police about this crime?
2. Can the pilgrim office request a clear guide from the Spanish police department of what to do, what number to call, where to report and what the procedure is. Is there a distress/ emergency line in English. Or what is the solution for non Spanish speakers. These informations are essential and accessible for pilgrims and posted clearly at all albergues.
3. On this forum, we need to have a thread for people who had been victims of sexual crimes to report/ alarm of their experience with full respect and support. We should encourage and show appreciation to the women who have the courage to report their frightening experience to alarm and to protect other women as well as all pilgrims who alert us about crimes happening on the camino. Safety and saving life is the utmost importance.
Supposedly, there is fear and if fear saves women's lives, or save them from the sexual violation, why not? Fear itself is not a negative thing, what one choose to do about it is where it shows positivity or negativity, and that remains a personal choice. I quoted it before and I repeat it here again, according to Gavin de Becker, fear is actually a gift that can save one's life! His book" The Gift of Fear", is widely known. Truly and importantly, raising the awareness is not spreading fear.
4. How can we raise this concern effectively to the pilgrim office, to the police?
5. How can we inform other pilgrims who are not on this forum? Non- English speaking pilgrim?
6. The Communication and guideline regarding this matter should be post at all albergues from starting points and along the way. Besides Spanish it should be translated a different languages including, English, French, German, Korean, Chinese and Japanese.
I don't know what can be done? What can I do? What can you do?
Please let me know.
Best,
Helen