Is Belgium Safe for Women? Crime Rate in Belgium
Safety rating
Women living in Belgium consider the safety level to be relatively high, with an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5.
Crime rating
Women living in Belgium consider the crime rate to be relatively low, with an overall crime rating of 2.3 out of 5.
Violence rating
On average 2.5% percentage of women in Belgium have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some time in their life, according to OECD Data.
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Crime & Safety Statistics
Based on 134 experiences
Safety rating: | 4/5 | Safe |
Safety walking alone after dark: | 3.4/5 | Moderate |
Safety using public transport: | 4.2/5 | Safe |
Crime rate: | 2.3/5 | Low |
Worries of being sexually harassed: | 2.1/5 | A bit worried |
Worries of being sexually assaulted or raped: | 1.8/5 | A bit worried |
Worries of being physically attacked: | 1.8/5 | A bit worried |
Worries of home broken and things stolen: | 1.5/5 | Not at all worried |
Worries of being mugged or robbed: | 1.7/5 | A bit worried |
Worries of being kidnapped or murdered: | 1.2/5 | Not at all worried |
How safe is Belgium?
Ceulemans
Mechelen
Mechelen is a small and charming city where everyone knows each other. It has a relatively young population, as it’s a trendy city with plenty of job opportunities. Everyone knows everyone. The city is buzzing with cultural activities. Even in the evening, it definitely doesn’t feel unsafe. At night, I wouldn’t walk alone near the train station, just because it doesn’t feel very comfortable — although I doubt anything would actually happen.
Posted: April 3, 2025Brussels
Overall it's fine I would say. Obviously there are some worse areas than others. I very rarely got bothered and I'm often going out at night. There are also lots of people around, so you not often alone in the streets.
Posted: March 30, 2025Ypres
Ypres is a lesser touristic spot in Belgium but with the same amount of history and importance like Gent or Bruge. It's easier to walk around and pass someone you already met. Therefore I think it's a safer city as there is also less nightlife.
Posted: March 30, 2025Ghent
For 2 years now I have been studying at university in Belgium and living in Ghent. Many nights I have had to go home alone, either because of rush hour or after a party. Of course it depends on where you stay, but I think the center is safe. I don't think you will have any problems during the daytime.
Posted: March 28, 2025
Nele
Brussels
I lived in Brussels for 8 months and the “most horrifying” experiences were (high) people speaking to themselves, people asking you for money or something like that. Would not recommend gare du midi/ gare du nord at night but it’s tolerable. Nothing ever got stolen, I never got catcalled and felt safe.
Posted: March 25, 2025Brussels
To be honest, out of all the places I’ve visited, Brussels was the worst in terms of overall safety and cleanliness. There were a lot of homeless people in the metro and men urinating in front of the main station.
Posted: March 18, 2025Ostend
During the day Ostend is pretty safe overall. At night, especially during winter time it can be very quiet. Some areas can be quite sketchy at night. The nightlife is mostly safe, but I've been harassed a couple of times but there's always a lot of police in the area and they are really helpful.
Posted: March 16, 2025
Lana
Brussels
It’s fine - mind where you go and ignore the weird man saying their stupid things. Many man here will say things but truly will not do anything - wouldn’t say it’s worse or better than any other big city
Posted: March 15, 2025
Nicol
Ghent
Ghent is a very safe space! Very open for lgbtq+ community and also as a woman u can feel safe alone on the street. The whole Belgiul is a very safe country. You can feel welcome and we are looking forward to meet up with you! :-)
Posted: March 13, 2025Hasselt
Hasselt is generally a safe city with a low crime rate. Violent crimes are rare, and it is safe for women and tourists. It is also a fun city, where there is always something to do, which is why there are always plenty of people present in the city. If you go to town to party at night on weekends, you will also encounter people of all ages. The only thing that might be considered dangerous is the train station, this is because drugs are more common here and there are homeless people. Otherwise, Hasselt is very safe.
Posted: March 12, 2025Is Belgium worth visiting?
Travel rating
based on 86 experiences from female travelers
Ghent, Group travel
My experience in ghent was great !! I recommend to go to this city with friends. I think ghent is a one day trip because the city is quite small. You can visit : - the gravensteen (it's a beautiful castle) - the cathedral - walk around and enjoy food :)
Posted: March 30, 2025
Lara
Netherlands
Aywaille, Group travel
I felt very save because we traveled there with a car so we moved from place to place with a car. In addition i was accompanied by three guys so that did make me feel a bit more safe. The environment there was also very calm so that made me feel comfortabel. There were a lot of nice activities to do such as hicking, visiting caves and kajaking. We stayed in a castel and the appartment that we got was very big, clean and neat and it was very inexpensive for what we got. The food was good and not very expensive so overall it was a very nice vacation.
Posted: March 25, 2025Meet locals in Belgium
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Safety in Belgium
Ghent
Brussels
Bruges
Antwerp
Leuven
Turnhout
Hasselt
Liège
Mechelen
Tervuren
Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve
Sint-Niklaas
Aalst
Ostend
Kortrijk
Roeselare
Frequently asked questions
Is Belgium safe?
Is Belgium safe to walk alone at night?
Is public transport safe in Belgium?
What is the crime rate in Belgium?
What is the risk of being sexually harassed in Belgium?
What is the risk of being sexually assaulted or raped in Belgium?
What is the risk of being physically attacked in Belgium?
What is the risk of burglary in Belgium?
What is the risk of being mugged or robbed in Belgium?
What is the risk of being kidnapped or murdered in Belgium?
