Over a fifth of Dutch women are victims of sexual violence: report
A massive 22 percent of women in the Netherlands dealt with sexual violence at least once in their lives, according to a study by Rutgers. 11 percent of them were raped. Among men 6 percent fell victim to sexual violence, including 1 percent who were raped, NU.nl reports.
If unwanted kisses and touches are included under the term sexual violence, 53 percent of women and 19 percent of men fell victim to this. 5 percent of women and 2 percent of men experienced sexual violence before they turned 12 years old. Many victims still struggle with psychological problems as a result of sexual violence. Some also faced sexual- and relationship problems.
Rutgers interviewed 17 thousand Dutch people between the ages of 18 and 80 years for this study, called Sexual health in the Netherlands 2017. The researchers did not only look at sexual violence, but also at how people in the Netherlands experience sex, how often they do it, and whether they use contraception.
Among people younger than 25 years old, there is almost no difference between men and women, and between homosexuals and heterosexuals, in how they experience sex. The people in the Netherlands who are dissatisfied with sex, are mainly dissatisfied about the amount of sex they're having and not about the quality. Many people want to have sex more often.
How often a person has sex depends mainly on health and age. 51 percent of people over the age of 70 had sex in the past six months, compared to 85 percent of people between the ages 25 and 39. Five out of six people over the age of 25 and in a relationship, have sex three times a month.
Nearly a third, 30 percent, of women in the Netherlands use the pill as contraception. That percentage is much higher among young women. 63 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 24 are on the pill. 2.9 percent of women had an unwanted pregnancy.
The use of condoms on the other hand, is relatively low, especially in one-night-stands. Of the people who had a one night stand, 42 percent of men and 55 percent of women did not use a condom. People in a steady relationship use a condom even less often, even if both partners haven't been tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Only a third of all Dutch women and a quarter of all Dutch men have ever been tested for an STD.
