He has grown an elephant’s skin in his fifteen years as a juvenile judge in Antwerp, says Christian Denoyelle. But what happened in the Kabouterbos in Kortrijk also upsets him. A girl of barely fourteen was raped last month by a group of ten boys, the eldest of whom was sixteen and the youngest barely eleven. They did that not once, but twice. And they shared images of their act on social media. By the way, last weekend a seventeen-year-old girl was again sexually assaulted by three young men in Kortrijk. And two others recently stood trial for the rape of a young woman in Roeselare.
Do these types of facts occur more frequently than before?
Christian Denoyelle: “It doesn’t happen every week, does it? But every year I come across a number of files like this. While that hardly seemed to happen at the start of my career as a juvenile judge. It’s happening more often, and that worries me. (The federal police registered 173 gang rapes in 2000, in 2021 there were 241, in 2022 there were 195, ed.) It is not always a whole group. Sometimes it is also serial. A guy takes a girl, has sex with her and then his friend goes about his business. The perpetrators are often very young, as are the victims. It’s bizarre how some young people underestimate the impact of such actions. Or not realizing that that’s not possible. Some say afterwards that they regret it, but it is not always possible to say whether those apologies have actually been lived through.”
Are the facts also becoming more serious?
“It seems that way, yes. Today, more attention is paid to such facts and to transgressive behavior in general. Which is a very good thing. In the past, if a boy put his hand on a girl’s buttocks or breasts without being asked, nothing was said about it. Fortunately, our sensitivities have sharpened and we are no longer tolerant of that kind of behavior.”
But we’re not talking about a hand on a chest at a scout party, are we?
“Of course not. But it says something about our sensitivity to sexual violence. And yes, the ways in which some young people use facts of – how do I put it politely? – committing transgressive behavior is something you wouldn’t imagine possible. There is a hardening. Compare it to drugs. In the past, soft drugs such as cannabis were mainly in vogue, but now hard drugs such as cocaine are everywhere.”
How can you as a group go so far over the border?
“Group dynamics are a strange creature. Especially among young people. Before you know it, you are all crossing boundaries that you would never cross alone.”
Young people come into contact with hard pornography at an early age. According to forensic psychiatrist Nils Verbeeck, that also plays a role.
“As a psychiatrist he has a better view of this. But I suspect that is true in some cases, judging by the talk of some young people in court. Recently there was a case involving strangulation. It turned out from the psychiatric expertise that the boy indeed viewed many of those types of images. But at the same time, research shows that many young people are well aware that it is about film and fantasy, and not about everyday forms of experiencing sexuality.”
Is a type of perpetrator emerging in these types of cases?
“The sex offender or the rapist: that does not exist. There are many different motives and possible explanations. There are those who are sex addicted and cannot control themselves. There are those who think that dominance and aggression are part of it and where group dynamics get out of hand. There are smart boys from ASO and others who are not very intelligent. Some are under the influence, others believe that anything goes when they are in a relationship. There are teenagers who do not know their limits. Not all sex offenders are alleged predators. And there is a group that continues to think according to the stereotypes that we have been fighting against for years. No, just because a girl is sexy and agrees to kiss does not mean she is asking for penetration. No, silence is not consent. Some people really don’t realize that. What is that? No empathy? A lack of sex education? Because just because you learned to put a condom over a banana at school doesn’t mean you learn to sense such things. We can still make a difference in that area, at school and in families. Because in some circles it is still completely taboo to talk about sexuality and intimacy.”
The youngest in Kortrijk was barely eleven. What do you do with such young perpetrators?
“Anyone who is not yet twelve cannot legally commit a juvenile offense and therefore cannot be sanctioned. We can see whether there is a disturbing situation and intervene accordingly. For children older than twelve, the public prosecutor’s office can request the juvenile judge on the basis of a juvenile offense. We have the entire arsenal available there: impose conditions, have the family guided, impose treatment, place them in a closed youth institution.”
Can you understand a public opinion that says: “Put those guys away forever”?
“Perhaps as a first emotional reaction, because this is so shocking. Me too. But does that solve the problem? What do we want as a society? They are still young people. We assume that they can be improved. This affects everyone, and judges are people too. But we have to let reason play its role. There is a good chance that such perpetrators will initially have to go to a closed institution. But we shouldn’t think that you change someone by locking them up. We do not want pamper, but do follow up and treat them properly. Also together with the parents. That question is often asked: where were the parents? Often they are there, they are also in shock, they want to cooperate. We look at the risk factors that exist in the life of such a young person. But we also look at what is positive, on which we can build further. In many cases they get back on track, or at least there is hope. In any case, you have to keep working with it. You can’t give them life and throw away the key. Fortunately, our society is not yet structured that way.”
Tags: Youth judge gang rape Kortrijk silence consent dont realize
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