Cabinet states approach to stopping femicide, but stops short of introducing new plan

Action is urgently needed to tackle the problem of femicide, the Dutch Cabinet said. Three ministers detailed the measures the government is taking to prevent women from being murdered on the basis of their gender and their current or prior relationships. "The government wants to do everything it can to stop femicide," the government wrote in a description of their approach, which was released on Friday. But the "action plan" is primarily a summary of existing policies.

Some 217 women and girls were killed by violence between 2018 and 2022. In 80 percent of the cases, the perpetrator was someone from the family. The rate falls to 15 percent in cases of murder or manslaughter involving male victims. "The number of annual victims of femicide has not decreased during this period," the government wrote.

Existing measures are divided into four pillars such as "primary prevention," which in turn includes ten priorities, such as "increasing the expertise of professionals." A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport could not specify any concrete new actions that the Cabinet is taking.

The plan does include a few studies into the possibility of taking additional steps. For example, the government wants to see whether it is useful to oblige education and healthcare workers to seek advice if they suspect oppression of women, or violence against them. The government is also considering conducting more in-depth investigations into the handling of femicide cases.

The Cabinet approach came after a request from GroenLinks-PvdA MP Songül Mutluer, which received support from almost the entire House of Representatives in October. In an interview with ANP, Mutluer spoke of a "very important first recognition of a deep-rooted problem" and "a good first attempt".

Mutluer would have liked to have seen further steps against femicide in the plan, such as a separate criminalization of psychological violence. She plans to submit a bill about this herself. "It's good that the government has come up with this action plan, but we're still a long way from that."

On behalf of child and family services organization Veilig Thuis and shelter association Valente, Hanneke Bakker called the plan "a very nice milestone in tackling domestic violence", especially because it covers many areas. Central coordination is very important, she said.

"The plan firmly establishes the concept of femicide, as it should be understood," Bakker said. "The beast is finally being called by its name. We are very happy with that."