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Belgian LGBT refuge shelter announced during annual Brussels Pride
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May 21, 2018
Original URL: https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Belgian_LGBT_refuge_shelter_announced_during_annual_Brussels_Pride


First-ever Belgian refugee shelter "Refuge" for the victims of violence
against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community was
announced this Friday by the initiators, one day prior to Brussels' LGBT
Pride rally. The refugee shelter is to open in the Belgian capital
Brussels in July. Brussels is to grant 50 thousand euros as subsidies
for the shelter.

Spokesperson of the "Refuge" Dimitri Verdonck said, .

Last year, 84 cases of discrimination against the LGBT community were
reported to equal-rights organisation Unia. Per this refuge programme,
up to four victims of anti-LGBT mistreatment are to be provided shelter
in a flat, whose location is not to be disclosed. The programme aims to
accomodate up to ten such people by the end of this year. A similar
refuge programme was launched in France fifteen years ago in 2003. 

Saturday's Brussels Pride was the 23rd iteration of the annual pride
which gathered around 100 thousand participants. The pride began at 2:30
PM, local time, at the Ravenstein street. This year's pride focused on
the "Your Local Power" theme for the upcoming municipal elections
scheduled for October. A number of politicians including the city Mayor
Philippe Close, Johan Van den Driessche, Meyrem Almaci, Pascal Smet, as
well as Sven Gatz attended the pride. Former Belgian prime minister Elio
Di Rupo was also one of the attendees.

Regarding this year's theme, the Pride's co-ordinator and spokesperson
Elio De Bolle said, . Around 70 related events were organised since May
4. The pride parade ended at around 5 PM. One attack by
counter-demonstrators was reported.

, State Secretary for the Equal Opportunities and Christen-Democratisch
en Vlaams politician Bianca Debaets said.

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|[[File:Brussels-Belgian Pride 2018 (2).jpg|center|thumb|500px|
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|[[File:Brussels-Belgian Pride 2018 (5).jpg|center|thumb|500px|
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|[[File:Brussels-Belgian Pride 2018 (9).jpg|center|thumb|500px|Brussels
Stock Exchange in colours of rainbow 
([https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en CC0 1.0])
|[[File:Brussels-Belgian Pride 2018 (14).jpg|center|thumb|500px|Brussels
city hall decorated in the rainbow lights 
([https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en CC0 1.0])
|[[File:Brussels-Belgian Pride 2018 (13).jpg|center|thumb|500px|Brussels
Grand Palace in colours of rainbow 
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|[[File:Brussels-Belgian Pride 2018 (16).jpg|center|thumb|500px|Brussels
Grand Palace in colours of rainbow 
([https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en CC0 1.0])
|[[File:Brussels-Belgian Pride 2018 (22).jpg|center|thumb|500px|Brussels
Grand Palace in colours of rainbow 
([https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en CC0 1.0])
|[[File:Brussels-Belgian Pride 2018 (24).jpg|center|thumb|500px|
([https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en CC0 1.0])
| lit up in lights of rainbow colours 
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== Sources == 

* https://www.lecho.be/economie-politique/belgique/bruxelles/la-pride-parade-envahit-les-rues-de-bruxelles/10013835.html
* http://www.brusselstimes.com/brussels/11372/belgian-pride-attracts-100-000-to-brussels-and-one-attack
* https://www.hln.be/nieuws/binnenland/in-beeld-23ste-pride-parade-trok-door-brusselse-straten-met-100-000-mensen~a49cf8c4/
* http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/News/1.3199806#
* http://www.brusselstimes.com/art-culture/11368/first-refuge-for-lgbt-opens-in-brussels-as-pride-takes-over-city
* http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/News/1.3200015
* https://www.demorgen.be/binnenland/eerste-vluchthuis-voor-holebi-s-opent-de-deuren-in-brussel-bd66b30f/
* https://www.rtbf.be/info/regions/detail_un-premier-refuge-pour-personnes-lgbt-a-bruxelles?id=9922035



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