Perpetrators of sexual harassment often a stranger to victim

More than half (54 percent) of the over 1.7 million people aged 16 and older who experienced sexually transgressive behavior in 2024 did not know the perpetrator, according to a study by Statistics Netherlands and the Scientific Research and Documentation Center (WODC).

Female victims of sexual misconduct more often report that the perpetrator is a stranger compared to male victims. They also relatively often identify an ex-partner or a date as the perpetrator. In 90 percent of cases, the offender is male.

For male victims, the perpetrators were often a good friend, girlfriend, or teammate. However, Statistics Netherlands notes that a relatively high number of male victims chose not to answer this question.

Among victims who knew the perpetrator, it was often a new or casual acquaintance, such as someone met while going out, an online contact, or a date. Colleagues and close friends are also frequently named as perpetrators.

Of the various types of sexually transgressive behavior, sexual intimidation is more common than sexual violence. Nearly 1.2 million people aged 16 and older reported experiencing offline sexual intimidation in 2024, while over 760,000 reported incidents of online sexual intimidation. More than 500,000 people aged 16 and older experienced sexual violence last year.