Amsterdam students feel unsafe in dorm-style housing

Students of fourteen Amsterdam dorm-style housing complexes feel unsafe in their homes, student union AVSA concludes based on reports recorded at the Student Hotline for Unsafe Housing, ANP reports.

"The results of our hotline show that students throughout the city are a target for burglars and unsavory figures. It is important now that the municipality, the police, housing associations and students come up with structural solutions to this problem", Xandra Hoek, chairman of ASVA said.

The hotline was set up two months ago, following unrest among students about recent rapes in Amsterdam, including one near a student housing complex on H.J.E Wenckebachweg. A suspect in this rape was arrested two weeks ago, after police released more information on the case hoping for tips from the public. The man is suspected of at least three rapes in Amsterdam late in January.

A total of 52 incidents were reported. The majority, 20, of the incidents involved burglary. Eight robberies on the street were reported, five violent incidents and four reports of sexual harassment or assault.