Why the Dutch Law Against Sexual Violence Is Flawed

If you live in the Netherlands, it is likely that you know at least one woman who has experienced sexual violence. One in five women between 18 and 24 years old has been a victim of sexual violence in only one years’ time1. If we look at the whole Dutch population, as many as 7,5% consider themselves to be a victim of rape while 11% have experienced what we would qualify as rape2. Despite so many people experiencing sexual violence, only very few actually report this to the police3. These numbers were very shocking to me, and as a survivor myself, I found it deeply upsetting to realise how many people experienced the same thing as me. But why would only so few feel like they could go to the police? Well, being one of them myself, I already know the answer: The law is flawed and blames the victims in most cases, which I found out through carefully reading the law.

The current law against sexual violence contains two important definitions. Sexual assault is defined as forcing someone to commit or tolerate sexual actions by use of violence or under threat of violence. Someone who is found guilty of sexual assault can be fined, and/or sentenced to a maximum of eight years’ imprisonment. This sentence is lowered to a smaller fine and maximum of six years imprisonment if the victim was unconscious, less conscious or bodily unable to resist due to intoxication or a handicap4. Rape is defined as forcing someone to have their body penetrated by use of violence or under threat of violence. Someone who is found guilty of rape can be fined, and/or be sentenced to a maximum of twelve years’ imprisonment and can be fined. This sentence too is lowered if the victim was unconscious, less conscious or bodily unable to resist due to intoxication or a handicap4.

There is a lot to unpack here, so let’s start. First of all, these definitions imply that a person has only been raped or assaulted if there was use of threat of violence. This invalidates experiences of people who have been emotionally manipulated into sexual acts. This definition also does not account for the possibility that the victim freezes in response to being assaulted, while research has already shown that freezing is a real reaction that people can have to fear. As many as 22% of victims of sexual violence will likely have this freeze response5.Further, by making the sentences less severe when the victim was unable to resist because of intoxication or a handicap, it is implied that their experience is less important, less painful, or less scarring than that of sober, able-bodied victims. Are you angry yet? My blood is certainly boiling, and we’re not even finished yet, so bear with me.

While we’ve already seen how these definitions invalidate certain experiences, they also make the “valid” ones very hard to prove. Since these definitions dictate the proof needed to take legal actions, this means that victims need to show proof of violence such as bruises, cuts and samples of sperm from the perpetrator6. These physical pieces of evidence are temporary. Bruises disappear, cuts heal and sperm will wash away. You know where I’m going with this, this means that a victim has a very short timeframe to go to the police and make their report. To have the best chance at justice, you need to have been able to fight your perpetrator so hard that it left bruises or even cuts on your body, the perpetrator should have a penis and not have used a condom. Then, as soon as he finished, you should instantly realise that you have been raped, not go into shock and run to the police so the evidence is still fresh. While all the perpetrator has to do is make sure to not leave any physical evidence, so you have zero proof. Not only are victims who do realise what happened to them unable to call for justice, this law is also invalidating to victims who are still coming to terms with their experience. If they don’t have bruises, does that mean they weren’t raped? If they were too scared to fight their perpetrator, does that mean they weren’t raped? Who does this law really protect? The victims? I don’t think so.

I do want to give a little hope. In 2020 the former Dutch Minister of Justice and Security, F. Grapperhaus, wrote a bill for a new law against sexual violence. With this new law, violence is no longer necessary to prove sexual violence and any type of sexual act performed or tolerated without consent will be punishable by law. Even sending sexual texts or images without consent will be made punishable by law and more articles are written for victims who weren’t fully conscious and the sentences are all made more severe. While the new law isn’t perfect, it will definitely be a huge improvement and will allow many more victims to get the justice they deserve. 

Unfortunately, even though the bill is completely finished and has been approved for implementation, it has been postponed to 2024 and Minister Grapperhaus has resigned as of January 10, 2022. With the current law in place, there are 100,000 victims of sexual violence or rape in the Netherlands every year8, and only very few make an official report. Based on these numbers, there will be around 150,000 more victims between today and 2024. Victims are treated as numbers and numbers can wait. But we’re real people, with real lives that can be completely turned upside down by acts of sexual violence. We can’t wait. <<