A fifth of young people victim of domestic violence

A fifth of young people between the ages of 16 and 24 was the victim of domestic violence between March 2019 and April 2020. Young women and girls were most often the victims. In 12 percent of cases, the victims faces structural violence, Statistics Netherlands reported in its first ever Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Prevalence Monitor.

Domestic violence includes hitting, kicking and threatening with physical pain. 10 percent of victims also faced "coercive control" - "in which one person strongly dominates the other", according to the stats office. 5 percent of victims were stalked by an ex. And 3 percent faced domestic sexual violence.

In all forms of domestic violence, young women are more often the victim than young men. Men are more likely to be the perpetrator of domestic violence, according to the stats office.

Young people who still live with their parents and young people who live on their own were almost equally often faced with domestic violence, at 20 percent and 19 percent respectively. But young people who live on their own faced sexual violence three times as often as their peers who still lived at home, 6 percent and 2 percent respectively.