Erik Verweij studied law at Erasmus University Rotterdam and, in addition to his job as a lawyer, devotes himself to various social issues. In his spare time, he makes video lectures in which he explains how the rule of law works and, with the Stop Street Harassment Foundation, he tries to get street harassment made a legal offence. Injustice regularly angers him and it is precisely cases where people think there is nothing more they can do that motivate him to stand up for justice.
Why did you start making video lectures?
"My first video was about the draft election programme of a political party in the Netherlands, which contained a chapter about democracy and the rule of law, about which I had some reservations. I then made proposals to improve this chapter and this was the reason for making the video lectures. I try to give legal information about developments and subjects that are socially interesting, topical and about which everyone has an opinion. With my lectures, I want to give explanations to both lawyers and non-lawyers. In fact to everyone who reads a newspaper from time to time."
What are the video lectures about?
"Often, these are subjects that are widely misunderstood and that people are angry about or have many questions about. Like the current court case about the fatal assault on Mallorca or curfews during the corona crisis. We often discuss legal topics such as treaties, current court cases or human rights. But often there is a lack of knowledge about how our legal system works. I think it is important that everyone can form a well-informed opinion and ask informed questions about things we read in the newspaper every day. Other video lectures were about the benefits affair, whether you can ban the tobacco lobby and whether Urgenda can claim penalty payments from the State in connection with the climate case. There was also a video lecture about making street harassment a criminal offence.”
Why did you get involved in criminalising street harassment?
"When my girlfriend told me about the tricks she and her friends use to get home safely after a nice dinner in the city, for example, it made me angry. In a free society, it cannot be that many women are harassed so often in the street. Many women have learned to adjust their behaviour so that they are not attacked. For example, they hold their keys between their fingers at night so that they can defend themselves in case of an emergency. Everyone should speak out about this, even if you see something like this happening on the street. I think street harassment should be fought more actively. That's why I joined the Stop Street Harassment foundation. Together, we try to make street harassment punishable. We recently offered a petition to support the proposal by the Ministry of Justice and Security, which will soon be debated in the Lower House. So you can really make an impact with all the knowledge you acquire during your studies. At the same time, you learn from conversations with politicians and other policymakers."
Where does your social drive come from?
"At a young age, I was already concerned about injustice, but I didn't often meet people who were like that. When I started studying at Erasmus University, I met more people who also wanted to do that, to stand up for justice. During my studies, for example, there was a situation where I got a 6 for a pleading exercise, which I myself thought should really be a higher mark. A student next to me was angry about the same thing and asked me if we could try and do something about it together. That is very inspiring and at the EUR this trait was actually encouraged. I learned that it was not strange that I had this need."
The new academic year starts in September. What advice would you like to give to the new students?
"Look around you consciously at all the nice things you are experiencing. The cliché that this is the best time of your life is true, and it is valuable to reflect on this. And try things. Like the challenges and opportunities you will face in the coming years. If you have the feeling that 'this suits me', then just try it out, this also applies to things besides your studies. Try to get as much out of it as possible."
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