Pact against sexual misconduct with Delft touch

Pact against sexual misconduct with Delft touch

 

 

Student associations and organisations in the Netherlands need to do more against sexual misconduct, they say. Therefore, on Thursday 25 August 25, they launched the student pact (in Dutch), a series of agreements they made together with Amnesty International.

 

At the launch, in addition to initiator Mariëtte Hamer (government commissioner for sexual transgressive behavior and sexual violence), a representative of the Delft student association Virgiel was present. Virgiel was the only individual student association to co-author the pact. Other authors include the ‘Dear Mark’ foundation, the Stichting Gelijkspel, the National Chamber of Associations, the Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg, the National Youth Council and the Landelijke Studentenvakbond.

 

According to an Amnesty International study (in Dutch), 1 in 10 female students in the Netherlands is raped. The initiators of the pact find that ‘inexplicable’. In workshops, students should therefore learn how to take each other’s boundaries into account, the pact argues. They should always ask for consent, is the idea. 

 

With the pact, the associations and organisations have for the first time a national approach with action points and tips. These include what should happen after an incident and how reporting procedures can be improved. (HOP, PvT)