Every year, some 62,000 children in the Netherlands are the victims of some sort of sexual violence, according to the government’s human trafficking and sexual abuse reporter, Corinne Dettmeijer.

The report considers abuse ranging from ‘hands on’ violence such as unwanted touching and rape, to ‘hands-off’ cases involving webcams and pornography.

The report concludes that only one in 10 cases is ever reported to the authorities and that many victims are too frightened to speak out.

Resources

The researchers gathered information from a wide variety of sources in an effort to assess the size of the problem. Information from the child protection council and the police could not be included because it was not clear who were the victims and who the abusers, broadcaster Nos says.

The report therefore recommends improved registration and a standardised approach. Different institutions use different definitions of abuse which also complicates the picture.

The report claims 32% of youngsters under the age of 18 will experience some form of sexual violence at one time in their lives. Girls are more likely to do so than boys and older teenagers are more likely to be affected than young children. Boys are also less likely to view themselves as victims, the report says.

Abusers

The report also claims just 2% of perpetrators are female and 20% are paedophiles. One in four abusers is also a minor and 27% have some form of learning disability.

Of the cases which end up in court, 77% result in a conviction and four out of 10 abusers will be sent to jail.