Good afternoon. It’s Katie Westwood with you today.
Back in the heady days of the mid-2000s, I was looking for a room to rent in Norfolk, Virginia. My budget was tight, so I went straight for the gutter and logged into Craigslist.
There, I was confronted with a horror show of sleazy adverts offering sex in exchange for accommodation. A typical ad read: "Nice guy, 43, looking for female roommate aged 18-24. Free rent in exchange for chores and favors once or twice a week."
I was poor, but I wasn't that poor. I had alternative options, unlike society's more vulnerable members – notably homeless women – who feel they have no other choice but to accept degrading arrangements like this.
In Belgium, sex-for-rent is a big and underreported problem, which is likely to get worse as rents continue to rise and the cost of living squeezes people’s incomes.
Guest contributor Marion Bordier has looked into this dark phenomenon, which is as old as humanity itself, but has developed in new and disturbing ways in the 21st century. Read Marion’s piece here.
Our next story is just as unsettling. Between the 1950s and the late 1980s, thousands of pregnant women from Belgium and the Netherlands were sent to private clinics in northern France to give birth anonymously.
These women were typically unmarried and very young, brought up in a culture where pregnancy outside wedlock was deemed sacrilegious. Their babies were taken across the border and placed with adoptive families in Belgium.
Reporter Anas El Baye spoke to a man who was one of the many victims of this historic injustice. He only discovered the truth about his origins as an adult and has never been able to reconnect with his birth mother. Read his story here.
You’ll be pleased to hear that today in Brussels, work begins on a “major” cleanup of the area around Brussels-Midi station. Work will involve sweeping, removing illegally dumped rubbish, cleaning hard-to-reach areas, emptying litter bins and cleaning drains, according to State Secretary for Public Cleanliness Audrey Henry (MR). Good luck to those cleaners – they’ve certainly got their work cut out.
The next story has made my day. Later this year, English-language bookstore and nerds' paradise Waterstones is going to open a second shop in Brussels on Avenue Louise – the first new Waterstones to open in continental Europe in almost 30 years. Now we just need the return of Marks and Spencers and all will be well with the world.
If you like what you've read in today's newsletter and you haven't yet subscribed to The Brussels Times, now is the time to do so. To celebrate Belgian National Day, we are offering readers the chance to subscribe for the bargain price of just €29 for the whole year. Make sure to click 'join now'.
As always, if you have any comments, tips or suggestions, you can find me at k.westwood@brusselstimes.com.
Bye for now!
Belgium in Brief is a free daily roundup of the top stories to get you through your coffee break conversations. To receive it straight to your inbox every day, sign up below:
1. A roof in exchange for sex: The hidden cost of trying to stay off the streets in Belgium
“When you live on the street, almost nobody looks at you or talks to you. So, when someone does, you know what it means – sexual favours." Read more.
2. ‘I finally found my Belgian mother. She told me it never happened’
For decades, Christophe de Neuville searched for a woman he had never met. Thanks to a DNA test, he found her, and a chapter of Belgian adoption history unravelled. Read more.
3. Major clean-up campaign at Brussels-Midi station underway
The campaign aims to improve cleanliness around the station, strengthen coordination between various partners and "better identify problem areas". Read more.
4. English bookshop Waterstones to open new store in Brussels
The new shop will be the first new Waterstones to open in continental Europe in almost 30 years. Read more.
5. Long working hours with no holiday – is this why Belgian freelancers are burning out?
Belgian self-employed workers do longer hours than employees and are burning out at a faster rate. A new survey highlights one reason why. Read more.
6. Brussels for kids: What to do with your family this weekend – 18 to 19 July
With Belgian National Day coming up next week, you're spoiled for choice with family-friendly activities in Brussels. Find all of our favourite picks here! Read more.
7. How does the EU prepare for battle?
The EU's SAFE initiative is offering €150bn in cheap loans for defence projects. Here's how the scheme works. Read more.
