Veilig Thuis abuse helpline sees emotional violence reports rise

In the first six months of this year, people called or chatted with Veilig Thuis almost 20,000 times about emotional partner violence. A year earlier the figure was almost 16,000.

Director Danny Tenić says the rise follows the wider public debate about toxic relationships. "The timing of that campaign was right, and the problem is more visible than it used to be," he says.

Tenić does not believe emotional abuse by partners and ex-partners is actually becoming more common. The new figures leave him feeling that many cases still go unseen.

Calls and chats about (suspected) child abuse have more than doubled since 2019, mainly reports of psychological abuse and neglect. Just over 22,000 people got in touch in the first half of this year about cases such as parents ignoring a child's distress, giving too little support or not showing enough love.

Consultations about emotional abuse rose by a quarter. The number of official reports, by GPs and police for example, and of ongoing case files at Veilig Thuis rose far more slowly. For emotional neglect of children the pattern was the same, and ongoing case files fell slightly. Tenić reckons that a single call from a victim or someone close to them is sometimes enough.

Earlier this month Veilig Thuis said it needs an extra €70m over the next three years, partly to fix staff shortages. "There are waiting lists, the chain has stalled," Tenić says, adding that care workers do not always have the answer, for example in complicated divorces.