Nine women who have walked along the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route testify to harassment during their pilgrimages over the past five years. Several of them have feared for their lives, they tell The Guardian.
Most of the incidents occurred when the women walked alone along deserted parts of the route.
Seven of the women testify to flashers who masturbated or touched themselves. One of the men chased a walker through the countryside.
One woman recounts that a man asked her to get into a van, another that she fended off unwanted touching and received indecent comments from several men.
Six of the nine women have reported the incidents to the police. In only one of the cases has the perpetrator been found and charged.
The information is shocking but not surprising, says Lorena Gaibor, who has founded an online forum for female pilgrims.
Sexual harassment is endemic on the "Camino". It feels very common. Every damn year, we get reports of women experiencing the same things, she says.
The pilgrimage routes have become increasingly popular in recent years. Last year, 446,000 people walked there – 53 percent of them women, according to official statistics.
The Spanish government launched a safety campaign in Galicia in 2021, where female pilgrims will have access to information in several languages on how to raise the alarm if something happens.
