Belgium, Jan Fabre sentenced for sexual harassment to 18 months suspended

Coming to verdict after more than three years is the court case involving one of the world’s leading artists, Jan Fabre (Antwerp, 1958), who in 2018 had been accused of sexual harassment and abuse by a group of twenty dancers from his company, Troubleyn, which he founded in 1986. At the time, his twenty collaborators had written a lengthy letter to the Dutch art magazine rekto:verso to denounce the artist’s behavior, which was accused of “hurtful sexist criticism that is delivered without spin, with no respect for the physical condition of women” and “shifting attitudes” and “volatile behavior” that “undermined the self-esteem and self-awareness of many of his workers,” resulting in many of the dancers having to seek psychological support after leaving the company. In addition, also in the letter, Fabre was explicitly accused of sexually harassing a performer in the company.

The verdict at the end of the trial, which began in March at the end of a three-year investigation after which the Antwerp court’s Auditorat du Travail had decided to remand Fabre for trial, came today, Friday, April 29, from the Antwerp Criminal Court: Fabre received an eighteen-month suspended sentence for sexual harassment and attentat à la pudeur (a crime in French and Belgian law by which “light” sexual assault, which does not cause bodily injury, and which could therefore be translated as sexual assault) against a woman. The suspension will last for five years (as in Italy then), during which time the artist will be deprived of his civil rights. According to the court, the sentence should make the artist become “aware of the seriousness of his acts,” and states that the decision takes into account the “repetitive nature” of these acts and the “impact” they had on the victims. In addition, according to the court, Fabre also abused his position as a famous artist to force his young dancers into “humiliating” nude photo shoots that, according to the court, “had no artistic value.” Also according to the court, “by his actions the defendant also created a hostile and humiliating work environment within which his dancers had to operate. The court is of the opinion that the defendant, as part of his artistic leadership, could have given directions in other ways as well, but he did not do so.”

The prosecution had asked for three years, but the court found that a portion of the facts charged against Fabre were statute-barred (in fact, the first events with which he was charged date back to 2002), which was the reason why the charges against six of the 12 people who filed charges against him were dropped. The facts for which Fabre was convicted include a tongue kiss that occurred in a nonconsensual manner towards one of the accusers (the one for which the conviction for attentat à la pudeur came), and humiliations suffered by five other dancers, including nude photo shoots.

The artist, who has always denied any charges against him, was not present in court at the time the sentence was handed down. However, the ruling, lawyer An-Sofie Raes, one of the accusers’ legal representatives, told the Belgian news agency, would in her view be “an important step” and a “recognition” for the victims. “The victims of such behavior,” she said, “now know that these acts are punishable.”

Fabre’s lawyer, Eline Tritsmans (the defense, by the way, had asked for total acquittal), wanted to emphasize Fabre’s temperament, known for having a very strong character and for his provocations: working with him, Tritsmans stressed, “means giving 100 percent” in grueling performances where one experiences “real fatigue and real emotions. This is not about helpless minors being abused here, but about strong, educated women who choose to go radical dancing with Jan Fabre.” Fabre, though absent, has made himself heard, however, with a handwritten letter delivered to his lawyer, where he says he never meant to hurt anyone and where he apologizes: “I sincerely apologize to anyone who feels hurt,” the missive reads, “to anyone who has felt hurt because of me. I wish you the anarchy of love and beauty.”

Fabre is now entitled to appeal the verdict. The Troubleyn company has indicated that it has taken note of the Antwerp judge’s ruling and is waiting to see if Fabre will appeal.

Pictured: Jan Fabre, Searching for Utopia (2003; bronze). Ph. Credit Dirk Pauwels. Copyright: angelos bvba

Belgium, Jan Fabre sentenced for sexual harassment to 18 months suspended

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