Cabinet explores allowing pepper spray for women in high-risk situations

The Cabinet is exploring whether women in specific high-risk situations should be allowed to carry pepper spray, such as cases involving stalking, domestic conflict, or potential honour-based violence. In Denmark, similar exceptions already exist with police approval, and Justice Minister David van Weel is now examining whether a comparable system could be introduced in the Netherlands.

The minister said that carrying pepper spray could provide women with a greater sense of security, but warned that there are also “significant risks.” He noted that an attacker could potentially seize the spray and turn it against the victim, or that users could accidentally harm themselves due to inexperience or adverse conditions such as wind. He also stressed the importance of preventing misuse against other citizens or law enforcement.

Van Weel wants to discuss the issue “with security partners and experts in Denmark and the Netherlands” to assess whether allowing pepper spray in certain cases would make women safer.

Although the measure may help, he said it will not solve everything. He even called it “a worrying and unacceptable development” that women are made responsible for their own safety.

According to him, the solution lies in “a comprehensive approach,” for example, through awareness, tackling gender inequality, and strong enforcement and protection. “The approach to this problem is not the responsibility of (potential) victims, but of society as a whole,” he wrote in a letter to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament.

Several organisations are not entirely enthusiastic about the Cabinet’s idea. Women Inc. has criticised the proposal, calling it “not well thought through.” A spokesperson said the organisation welcomes the minister’s attention to the issue, but argues that the plan places the burden on women who are already facing threats by requiring them to seek permission to carry pepper spray.

Instead, she said, the focus should be on ensuring that women at risk can turn to organisations that are equipped to provide effective protection and support, rather than primarily offering them a means of self-defence.

Danique de Jong, who launched the We Reclaim the Night campaign, also expressed reservations about the idea, saying she is “not fundamentally in favour” of the proposal. “I understand why some women might feel safer carrying pepper spray, but it does not address the underlying problem,” De Jong said. She argues that the proposal risks responding to violence with more violence and warns that the spray could ultimately be turned against the very women it is meant to protect.

“Pepper spray is a form of violence, and its use could lead to even more violence if it angers someone and causes the situation to escalate.” De Jong also believes that women are being made responsible for their own safety. “The question should be: how do we make sure women are safe?”