Netherlands failing to tackle violence against women, says European advisory council

The Netherlands still falls short in fulfilling its obligations under the Istanbul Convention, a treaty aimed at preventing violence against women, according to GREVIO, the Council of Europe’s monitoring body.

The number of shelters for women affected by violence remains insufficient, according to GREVIO. The council added that the Netherlands must do a better job of “ensuring that shelters and specialist services cater for women at risk of overlapping forms of discrimination, and aligning definitions of domestic violence, both in law and practice, with the convention.”

GREVIO experts have voiced concerns that domestic violence is often treated as a mere conflict, instead of being understood in terms of power and control, “where one person aims to dominate and manipulate.”

For example, in court cases concerning custody or visitation arrangements, mediation is often suggested. According to GREVIO, this approach fails to adequately consider the imbalance of power between the partners.

GREVIO also urges the elimination of the waiting period for reporting sexual crimes, warning that it can deter women from coming forward with complaints. While they also mentioned that Dutch authorities need to “expand the scope of existing legislation” so that they can pursue every case involving sexual violence or rape.

According to GREVIO, some steps have been taken. These include the Stop Femicide! action plan and the introduction of a new sexual offenses law last year. They also praised the steps being made to eradicate sexual violence and harassment in sport.

In the Netherlands, roughly one woman is killed every eight days, and the perpetrator is often a current or former partner. Violence against women has become a much-discussed subject in the Netherlands over the previous few months, a campaign called "we claim the night" was launched after the violent murder of 17-year-old Lisa in Duivendrecht. She was cycling home from Amsterdam to her home in Abcoude when she was attacked.