divorce

The SGP faction in Dantumadiel, Friesland removed a campaign video posted on its Facebook page on Saturday after facing fierce criticism. In the video, faction leader Tom Bakker talked about the consequences of divorce and said that "there is almost always something wrong" with children from broken families, AD reports.

The number of cross-border child abductions in the Netherlands showed a significant increase in 2016. Last year a total of 251 children were reported kidnapped to the Dutch center of international child abductions IKO, 14 more than in 2015, the center announced according to RTL Nieuws. 

Most of these abductions involved a parent taking a child abroad following a divorce or separation. Most of the abducted children were below the age of 6, the youngest one was two months old at the time of abduction. In 70 percent of the cases, the perpetrator is female. 

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.

An increasing number of kids in the Netherlands do not live with their father. Last year 549 thousand children under the age of 16 did not live with their father. That is 18 percent of all kids in the Netherlands, a 5 percent increase compared to 1995, Statistics Netherlands announced on Friday.

A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, wants to change the marriage law so that prenuptial agreements are standard practice in new marriages

Christian party SGP wants to ban adultery commercials from dating sites like Second Love from public broadcasters in the Netherlands. According to party leader Kees van der Staaij, these "repulsive" ad campaigns that call on spouses to commit adultery destroy many relationships and families. "Every divorce we can avoid is pure profit for the children involved"

People living in the Netherlands are generally satisfied with their lives, but somewhat concerned about the future, according to the report The Social state of the Netherlands 2015 by the Social and Cultural Planning Bureau. According to the report, there was no further deterioration in the quality of life for most Dutch.

The VVD, PvdA and D66 think that the current rules on alimony are outdated and should be changed. Divorcees may soon pay alimony for a much shorter period of time, or even not at all.

The CDA wants grandparents to also get visitation rights with their grandchildren in a divorce, NOS reports. According to parliamentarians Peter Oskam and Mona Keijzer, there can be heartbreaking consequences if children can't have contact with their grandparents.

Despite reports from the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Netherlands Association of Estate Agents that the housing market is recovering, around 21,000 of the more than 63,000 homes put up for sale in The Netherlands, are often sold in the first half year at a stiff loss, De Telegraaf reports.

Secretary Teeven wants to make it possible for couples to get divorced without court intervention. Couples can turn to the registrar of civil registration. The new procedure will be faster and cheaper.