First conviction: Man fined €100 for sexually harassing woman on Rotterdam street
The Subdistrict Court in Rottdertam fined 33-year-old Asmeron Z. from Vlaardingen 100 euros for sexually harassing a woman on the street. Undercover enforcement officers caught him in the act of making sexual comments to the woman and grabbing her. It is the first time a court has convicted someone of sexual harassment on the street since the law was adjusted to make it a punishable offense on July 1.
The incident happened on August 9 in the Rotterdam city center. The man approached the 20-year-old woman in an “intrusively sexual manner,” the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said in court.
One member of the street enforcement team said they witnessed Z. grab the victim by the hips, an incident which followed a rebuffed earlier attempt to talk to her. She then struggled to get away from him, the constable claimed.
“You are a liar. I am not going to say anything about it," Z. said angrily during the hearing. The judge told him not to speak in such a manner, but Z. responded, “I will,” according to a Telegraaf reporter.
Two of the street enforcers also alleged he pawed at them. One woman said he tried to hold her hand, and the other said he put his hand on her upper thigh.
The OM described Z.’s actions as “terrifying and humiliating” to the victim, adding that she was very scared when he grabbed her. The prosecutor pointed out that he did this “to a complete stranger, on the street.”
The prosecutor in the case noted that half of all adolescents and young adults from 12 to 25 years of age said they have been subjected to harassment in public. About two-thirds of the victims were women, according to data from a survey conducted in 2020 and 2021. Roughly 975,000 were forced to endure street harassment of a sexual nature in 2019.
The OM demanded a fine of 280 euros or five days in prison against the man. Z. was previously convicted of assault. The prosecutor pointed out that he failed to keep contact with the probation service after that conviction.
The court fined him 100 euros plus a conditional fine of 180 euros, calling the man’s actions “unpleasant and serious.”
In its verdict, the court pointed out that sexual harassment on the street makes people “feel unsafe and prevented from being themselves when they are in public.” It also often forces victims to change their behavior, for example, by avoiding certain places or changing the way they dress.
