Nearly 14,000 victims sought help from sexual violence center last year

The Sexual Assault Center (CSG) assisted 13,848 victims of sexual violence via telephone, online, or in one of their help centers in 2023. This is a nine percent decrease compared to 2022 but is a rise of 40 percent compared to 2021, the center said in its yearly report. The CSG also received over a thousand emails asking for expertise and advice.

After a peak year of 2022, it seems to be more stable and has a more steady growth, the center said. One of the reasons for the high number of people asking for advice in 2022 was due to the significant attention given to the subject of sexual violence at the start of 2022 with the episode of BOOS about the abuses that went on the set of The Voice of Holland. The center added that they also received more phone calls than average during the court case against musician Ali B, which started at the beginning of this month.

“In recent years, a new wind has started to blow in our country,” Iva Bicanic, director-manager of the CSG, said. “More and more victims of sexual abuse and sexual violence are talking about what they went through as child, adolescent, or adult.”

Bicanic thinks this is a good development because it is vital that people don’t lock themselves up with these nasty experiences but instead choose to heal themselves with the help of others.

The CSG has 16 locations spread out all over the country where victims of sexual violence can go for psychiatric, medical, and forensic help. They are given special care at the center by a team of doctors, nurses, police, and other services.

With over a thousand requests for advice, it seems professionals are also increasingly finding their way to CSG. The cases that they are asking advice for are becoming increasingly complex, Bicanic added. “For example, because the problem affects different areas of life, or because there is both online and offline sexual abuse.”

Doctors, youth protectors, confidential counselors, and employees at childcare centers, schools, and universities are examples of professionals who contact CSG consultants.