My Daugther had a run in today w/ a pevert in the Camino, on the stage between Los Arcos and Logroño. She was walking alone 8km before Viana when a pevert jumped out of a bush, naked, wearing a black balaclava masturbating himself, she started screaming a ficticius name and ran away. He was not able to run after her. He was a white chubby male aproximately 1.75m tall.
Police in Viana was contacted and went looking for the perv, my daughter is Ok but still shaken, a fellow pilgrim that she had the phone number came back and walked w/ her to Viana, but she is not sure if she wants to continue.
I’m really distressed and sad, I did the Camino in 2014 and my wife did it in 2011, we only found kindness between pilgrims and in the vilages along the way. The experience changed our lives... maybe this is a sign of the times we are living.
Buen Camino
Please don’t give up. Encourage your daughter to seek others to “tag along with.” She can ID likely couples or other adults each evening when she stops for the day, or the following morning as people are setting out.
She does not have to become their new BFF. But keeping someone near, even 50 feet away will be enough to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. The pervs are looking for any woman walking alone. Age is no factor.
The Camino is safe. It truly is. As a regular volunteer at the Pilgrim Office at Santiago, I have taken women to the Policia Nacional in Santiago to report this same sort of thing occurring elsewhere, outside of Santiago.
I speak to the officers, as a retired US federal agent. I know I am getting the straight story.
The official position is that, in Spain, if there is no actual touching or physical contact, there is no serious crime (a felony). If the perv is caught, he gets a fine for making a public nuisance of himself, and disturbing the peace. It is considered a relative misdemeanor, as long as there is no touching. No touching, no jail...
The other thing I have gathered is that many small and remote towns and villages (but certainly not all) have a local person who is known by all to be mischievous in this or similar non-violent behaviors. Unfortunately, they tend to just shrug it off as “...crazy old Julio just doing his thing...”
The local police tend to shrug and say “...no touching, no problem.” The bad thing is that once touching occurs, things can go south quickly.
But, seeking “tag along status” will go a long way to boost your daughter’s confidence, and allow her to enjoy the awesome experience coming ahead.
I know this is not what you want to hear, but please, please don’t give up. Tell your daughter to find other folks her own age, or other apparently reliable adults and simply ask if they would mind if she tagged along for the morning...to help boost her confidence.
I sincerely hope this helps. The best part of the
Camino Frances is still ahead.