Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) has lodged a complaint with the police after receiving an unsolicited so-called "dick pic" (a picture of male genitalia) in her inbox, she announced on Twitter.
Demir published a screenshot of the messages, showing the blurred photo and a number of lewd comments that were sent along with it.
"Dick pics in your inbox. Women, even underage girls, unfortunately, encounter this kind of unwanted and transgressive behaviour all too often. Stop it. I am filing a complaint," she posted on social media, asking people to share her post and avoid the repetition of these kinds of unwanted messages.
On Twitter, Federal Development Minister Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) supported Demir, calling the messages unacceptable.
"Perpetrators should never be allowed to get away with harassment. It is very important that bystanders speak up and intervene in this kind of behaviour, both online and offline," she added.
Often from strangers
Last year, a study found that half of the girls between 15 to 25 in Belgium already received at least one unwanted "dick pic," with the problem being most common among the minors (15 to 18) in this age group.
Most girls and women indicated that they were "embarrassed," "angry" or even "outraged" after receiving such non-consensual images, the results showed. In almost half of all cases, the image was sent by a stranger – a phenomenon that was even more common among female respondents, who were also more likely to get images from people older than them.
While some young people said they send such images to get similar pictures in return or to "seduce" the recipient, a significant proportion of respondents admitted to having "evil intentions" in sending such images, and a quarter noted they do so to harass or intimidate the recipient.
