Sharp increase in restraining orders in NL; Quadrupled in five years

After several women were killed by their stalkers in the past years, the number of stalkers brought to justice increased significantly. The number of restraining orders quadrupled in the past five years, and the courts convicted 9 out of 10 stalkers, EenVandaag reported based on figures from the Council of the Judiciary.

In 2016, the courts imposed a restraining order - banning a person from a specific area or making contact with a particular person - in 543 cases. Last year, Dutch courts imposed 2,069 restraining orders. Up to and including August this year, 1,689 cases were brought to court in which a restraining order was imposed.

The number of people charged with stalking also increased by about 20 percent, from 599 in 2016 to 717 in 2020. In the first half of 2021, over 400 people appeared in court on stalking charges. The courts found 9 out of 10 stalkers guilty.