Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer wants the police to stop making underage suspects spend a night in jail for a minor offense. Minors who are arrested should not only be seen as a suspect, but also as a child, Kalverboer said in a new report, ANP reports.
"It is very drastic for children to be locked up in a cell, especially at night", the child advocate said. "If children are locked up, the police must be able to explain why."
The problems in youth aid, youth protection, youth mental health care, and appropriate educate are becoming bigger and bigger. As a result, vulnerable children often do not get the help they need, Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer said in a letter to Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health, Welfare and Sports, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Dutch Tax Authority acted contrary to the Convention on the Rights of the Child when it discontinued the childcare allowance of over 200 families in 2014. The tax office did not adequately take the interests of these children into account, Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer wrote in a letter to the Tax Authority, which is in the possession of Trouw.
Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer is urgently calling on the government to bring Dutch children still in Syria back to the Netherlands. "There has been talk for almost a year, but not much has happened. The children are a year older and live under poor conditions. That is bad for their development", she said in a letter to Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security, RTL Nieuws reports.
A tenth of Dutch children are dissatisfied with their own lives and give their lives a failing score of 3.8, according to a study by Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer. The difference between happy children and unhappy children in the Netherlands is also growing, she said on Tuesday - the International Day for the Rights of the Child, NU.nl reports.
Kalverboer analyzed nearly a thousand questionnaires filled out by children and spoke to a number of children in various living situations, from top young athletes to kids living on the street.
Children under guardianship are not sufficiently involved in the decisions made about them, Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer wrote in a letter to institutions and the responsible ministers on Thursday. According to Kalverboer, the child protectors want the best for these children, but much can be improved in the decision making process around these kids, NU.nl reports.
Children in Zaanstad see Sinterklaas as a fun family celebration and when it comes to the color of Zwarte Piet, they prefer so-called Chimney Pieten colored black by soot, according to Zaanstad Children's Ombudsman Martien van Does, Het Parool reports.
Van Does spoke to 200 children about Sinterklaas in the run-up to a debate evening on Wednesday about the holy man's national arrival at the Zaanse Schans on November 17th.
Children and young people whose parents have problems want quicker action when things go wrong at home, according to the Netherlands Ombudsman for Children Margrite Kalverboer. The children also want aid providers to include them when it is decided what aid is needed, she said, ANP reports.
The Netherlands current poverty policy is not enough to adequately meet the needs of the 378 thousand children in the country living in poverty, according to Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer. More attention must be paid to creating a stable home situation for these children, she said in a report published on Tuesday, Het Parool reports.
Too little attention is paid to children and young people in the Groningen earthquake zone, Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer said in a new study published on Wednesday. The study found that some of the 30 thousand kids and young people living in the area affected by gas extraction earthquakes, struggle to deal with the earthquakes and their consequences, AD reports.
Kids in the Netherlands are more in need of real interest and attention from adults than they are of more toys, Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer concluded after touring through the country speaking with children. "We believe that children are materialistic, but when you ask them what they think is important, it is attention at number 1", she said, according to Het Parool.
Kalverboer started her term as Children's Ombudsman of the Netherlands by touring through the country speaking with hundreds of children and having over 2 thousand kids fill out questionnaires.
Dutch children experience too much pressure around their school work and their work load needs to be reduce, according to Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer. "Children think they are judged too much on their academic performance. That feeing fits with what adults experience. They suffer from depression and sleep too little." Kalverboer said, AD reports.
More children and young people were admitted to secure youth institutions in the Netherlands this year, according to Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer based on her own research. She also found an increase in the number of emergency admissions, which mostly involve advanced problems, NOS reports.
Nearly half of Dutch children under the age of 12 already experienced some form of traumatic event ranging from emotional neglect, physical or sexual abuse to a parent with suicidal tendencies, according to a study done by children's rights organization Auegeo, NOS reports.
For this study Auego had 660 children aged 11 or 12 years surveyd by teenagers a few years older than themselves. The study was handed to Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer and Princess Laurentein on Wednesday.
The Discrimination Hotline for the Amsterdam region is calling on people to report cases of discrimination, harassment and racism during the Sinterklaas season, NOS reports.
According to the Hotline, the “controversial figure of Zwarte Piet”, annually causes situations to get out of hand at school, work and other public places. The Hotline is consciously choosing to actively participate in the debate on what Zwarte Piet should look like.
Activists involved in the debate surrounding blackface Zwarte Piet released a statement calling for calm on Monday after a meeting with the Ministry of Social Affairs. They feel a calm and respectful discussion is what is needed on the subject
Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer received "dozens of threats" following a report she released on Zwarte Piet on Friday. She reported the threats to the police and is pressing charges
Support for blackface makeup on Sinterklaas character Zwarte Piet is steadily declining, though the vast majority is still in favor of it. In Maurice d e Hond's latest political poll 21 percent of Dutch indicated that it is time for Zwarte Piet to change, compared to less than 10 percent three years ago.
Zwarte Piet in his current for is in violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, says Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer. According to her, the figure of Zware Piet can contribute to bullying, exclusion or discrimination. He must therefore be adapted in such a way tht no children experience negativity in the Sinterklaas festival
Margrite Kalverboer was sworn in as the new Children's Ombudsman in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, on Wednesday. She is succeeding Marc Dullaert, whose term ended on April 1st.
Margrite Kalverboer was voted the new Children's Ombudsman by the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, on Tuesday. She got 78 of the 143 votes
National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen asked Children's Ombudsman Marc Dullaert to secretly sign a resignation letter last year. He also withheld information regarding his reorganization plans from the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, the Volkskrant reports based on information from Dullaert himself as well as other sources.
The Ministry of Security and Justice acknowledges that emergency shelters are not ideal, especially for child asylum seekers. But the central organization for the reception of asylum seekers COA is constantly working on improvements, a spokesperson for the Ministry said
Departing Children's Ombudsman Mark Dullaert wants to stay in his position until his successor has been found, he said in an interview with broadcaster NOS. An online petition to keep him as Children's Ombudsman for another term already has 28,495 signatures.
