Growing number of Dutch believe hitting wives acceptable: study

More people in the Netherlands believe hitting a wife can be acceptable, according to a long-running survey of Dutch values by the University of Amsterdam and Tilburg University.

Just over 84% of those questioned this year said wife beating could never be justified, down from 87% in 2022 and 88% in 2012, news agency ANP reported on Tuesday. The figures come from the Dutch part of the World Values Survey, an international study of public opinion, which questioned 2,500 adults.

“The trend is still the same,” UvA researcher Mark Boukes told ANP. “The number of people who think it is never justifiable to hit their wife – in other words, resistance to hitting a woman – is falling.”

Young people were less likely than older people to reject domestic violence outright. The researchers also found that people who feel financially secure tend to hold more progressive views.

Women feel less safe
Women said they feel less safe than in earlier surveys and are particularly worried about sexual harassment. The researchers cite the murder of 17-year-old Lisa in 2025 as a possible reason for the change.

The study also pointed to the influence of the manosphere, the online movement promoting hostility towards women. “A lot is changing in society that is leading people to hold more conservative opinions,” Boukes said.

Judith Tielen, the junior education minister responsible for gender equality policy, called the findings “alarming”. “It shows we really still have a lot to do to eliminate violence against women,” the right-wing liberal VVD politician told ANP.

Tielen has also commissioned research into the spread of anti-gender narratives and their links to the manosphere and other extremist movements. The cabinet appointed its first national coordinator on violence against women in July.

Round-the-clock chat
The survey findings came as Veilig Thuis, the national advice and reporting centre for domestic violence and child abuse, said its online chat service is now available 24/7. Its phone line already ran around the clock, but the chat was only staffed during office hours.

The extended hours were introduced quietly a month ago. In August, three times as many people sought advice through the chat as a year earlier, and there are now more chats outside office hours than during them, broadcaster NOS reported.

“We see a peak when people get home from work, and another before bedtime, around 11pm,” Elijah Sanches, a doctor who staffs the chat, told NOS. “I talk to people who hear noise at their neighbours’, or women chatting from the toilet because their partner is shouting at them and hitting them.”

Veilig Thuis received 136,000 reports last year. It is legally required to assess the risk in each case within five days, but in recent years it has taken longer in almost half of cases, and the health inspectorate has repeatedly said this must improve.

The chat is intended for advice, not formal reports, and Veilig Thuis hopes it will help filter out cases that do not need investigation. “Some people who make a report now really only need advice,” Sanches said. “That saves time, so we can investigate the reports that come in more quickly.”

If you have experienced or are experiencing domestic or sexual violence, Veilig Thuis (Safe at Home) offers confidential advice 24 hours a day on 0800 2000 or at veiligthuis.nl. In an emergency, call 112.