Only 3% of domestic violence victims in Netherlands seek help from support agency
Women in abusive relationships in the Netherlands rarely seek help from official support organizations, according to recent findings. The national support agency, Veilig Thuis, is seeing alarmingly low engagement, with only 3 percent of victims reaching out for assistance, according to Pointer. This issue has prompted concern from both the public and experts, who are calling for systemic changes to address the barriers victims face in accessing help.
Secretary of State for Health Vicky Maeijer has acknowledged the problem and is pushing for changes. "These women experience a barrier that we need to break down," Maeijer told Pointer. However, she remains hesitant about implementing a new nationwide helpline for victims, despite strong advocacy for such a service from experts and the families of women who have been murdered by their partners.
Mijke Caminada, spokesperson for the women's shelter association Valente, emphasized that many victims endure prolonged suffering in silence, largely due to the stigma and fear of taking the first step to speak out. "People in a domestic violence situation often struggle for a long time, and they experience a real barrier to starting to talk," Caminada told Pointer. Valente advocates for a 24/7 helpline that is independent from official organizations like Veilig Thuis and the police. "Women need an anonymous place where they don't have to fear the consequences," Caminada added.
Statistics from the CBS/WODC further illustrate the scale of the issue. Only one-third of domestic violence victims discuss their situation with a social worker, psychologist, or general practitioner. Even fewer—less than 3 percent—reach out to Veilig Thuis, the national advisory and reporting center for domestic violence.
Fear plays a significant role in why many victims do not seek help. Caminada pointed out that women often fail to recognize that they are in an unhealthy relationship, or they are afraid of their partner finding out, or worse, that their children may be removed from their home if they involve official organizations. "Veilig Thuis is organizationally set up to be the place for domestic violence and child abuse, and they also have the task of protecting children. People know this, and it causes fear," Caminada explained. She believes that an independent helpline would prevent women from remaining trapped in violent situations out of fear.
In addition to victims’ fears, there are concerns about the image of Veilig Thuis. Judith Kuypers, the chair of the National Network Veilig Thuis, expressed reservations about launching a new helpline. She argued that Veilig Thuis already functions as an anonymous advisory service and that increasing communication about their services could encourage more women to reach out. "We are seeing an increase in advisory inquiries in our own data," Kuypers told Pointer.
Kuypers acknowledged that some women are hesitant to call out of fear of having their children taken away, but she attributed this primarily to an image problem with the organization. "We receive about 130,000 reports annually, and approximately 1 percent of those go to the Council for Child Protection for investigation. So, this is very minimal," she told Pointer.
Secretary of State Maeijer is focusing her efforts on improving the advisory function of Veilig Thuis, particularly by expanding its chat service, which is currently not available 24/7. "This could be one example of how we further lower the barrier by making this function more widely available," Maeijer told Pointer.
