More sex crimes were recorded in 2018, according to the latest figures published by the CBS Dutch statistics office.

Although overall crime reports dropped, following a trend since 2010, almost 9,000 people told the police they had been the victim of a sex crime in 2018, compared with 8,400 in 2017.

The figure is, however, still less than the level in 2010. The CBS attributed a rise in the past few years to an increase in reports of rapes, sex assaults and also crimes such as unwanted sexting and grooming.

It adds that some research suggests that only four in 10 people who suffer violent abuse or sex crimes go to the police.

The official figures confirm a report by the police in January suggesting that while the total reported crime dropped by 6% last year, sex crime allegations were more common.

It added that these figures do not tell the whole story. ‘In recent years, there has been a clear shift to “invisible” criminality…which people do not report but which is still a social problem,’ the police report said.