Formation | 2020 |
---|---|
Founder | Pieke Roelofs |
Founded at | Maastricht, Netherlands |
Type | Non Profit Organisation |
Legal status | Foundation |
Region served | Global |
Official language | English, Dutch, French, Norwegian, German |
Website | stichtingcassandra.nl |
Stichting Cassandra is a Dutch foundation that defends the interests of victims of sexual and psychological violence. The foundation currently publishes its work in five languages.
Stichting Cassandra was founded in 2020 by whistleblower Pieke Roelofs as a result of her own experiences with abuse, the police and legal system. Roelofs stated that the systematic failure in sexual violence cases and failure of the government to protect victims "must stop", and that the Dutch government did "not only put victims in danger, but also society." The foundation has its registered office in Maastricht. [1]
In March 2020, the foundation demonstrated at an International Women's Day March, raising attention for the fact that The Netherlands has not legally defined sex without consent as rape, urging minister of Justice Ferdinand Grapperhaus in De Limburger to “hurry up” with the proposed new rape laws. [2]
In May 2020, masked activists of the foundation protested at Vrijthof in Maastricht using ultraviolet lights and neon balloons spelling 'Mask for Justice', raising awareness on the increase of domestic violence as a result of COVID-19 isolation. [3]
In August 2020, the foundation responded to a Dutch government consultation about the proposed new sex crime laws in the Netherlands, warning about the low prosecution number of rapists in the country. The foundation also stated that in the first 3 quarters of 2019, only 37% of reports of rape to the police led to a criminal complaint. It was added that in October 2019, according to police sources, 945 rape cases had been pending for longer than six months, 90 of which for longer than two years. [4]
The foundation criticised the fact that since 2017 the maximum sentence of 12 years in prison had never been demanded in a rape case; the highest sentence imposed was 6 years, the lowest 21 days, and on average a rapist was jailed for a year and 5 months. The foundation highlighted that Meldpunt Kinderporno received approximately 300,000 reports of online child sexual abuse materials in 2019, which was 'an increase of 38 percent: the previous year, the number of reports increased by 45 percent'. Concerning consent, Stichting Cassandra stated that "what matters in abuse cases is whether facts and circumstances have made it impossible for the victim to freely determine their will", whether the perpetrator "abused this" or that the perpetrator even "deliberately created this situation". According to the foundation, "in an amendment to the law, the existence, abuse and / or deliberate influence of those power dynamics should be clearly elaborated and put at the center of consideration". Stichting Cassandra criticised newly introduced terminology "sexual interaction against the will" by minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus in the proposed law reform, referring to it as an example of "contempt and disregard" towards victims and that the choice of words "shifts the focus of the offender on something that happens between the offender and the victim" as well as that the "reality of being abused" is no longer mentioned, stating the choice of words was "neutralizing" abuse and "secondarily traumatizing" for victims. The foundation said among others seeing the terminology "sexual interaction" above sex crime articles concerning abuse of children, made them 'gag'. [5]
The Party for Neighbourly Love, Freedom, and Diversity, alternatively the Charity, Freedom, and Diversity Party, was a political party in the Netherlands. It existed without parliamentary representation and had only three known members as of 2006. The PNVD was commonly referred to as the "pedo party" by media outlets, due to its advocacy for the legalization of child pornography and the lowering of the age of consent. The party was originally founded on 31 May 2006 by three self-described pedophiles. Its motto was sapere aude, or "dare to know". Starting with the 2006 general election, the PNVD failed to contest electorally as it was unable to collect the 30 signatures from each of the 19 Dutch electoral regions it required to get on the ballot. On 14 March 2010, the party was dissolved.
The concept of rape, both as an abduction and in the sexual sense, makes its appearance in early religious texts.
Sexual violence refers to a range of completed or attempted sexual acts in which the affected party does not or is unable to consent. Theories on the causes of sexual violence are numerous and have come out of many different disciplines, such as women's studies, public health, and criminal justice. Proposed causes include military conquest, socioeconomics, anger, power, sadism, traits, ethical standards, laws, and evolutionary pressures. Most of the research on the causes of sexual violence has focused on male offenders.
Punishment for rape in Pakistan under the Pakistani laws is either death penalty or imprisonment of between ten and twenty-five years. For cases related to gang rape, the punishment is either death penalty or life imprisonment. DNA test and other scientific evidence are used in prosecuting rape cases in Pakistan.
In 2007, the U.S. Department of State reported 31,833 rapes in China, but no similar report by the Chinese government has been made available. Same-sex sexual assault between male adults was made illegal in late 2015. Domestic and foreign victims of sex trafficking in China are raped.
Eyserheide is a hamlet in the southeastern Netherlands. It is located close to the village of Eys in the municipality of Gulpen-Wittem, Limburg, around 15 km east of Maastricht. The name refers to a former heathland in the area. The village has a population of 90 people.
After a sexual assault or rape, victims are often subjected to scrutiny and, in some cases, mistreatment. Victims undergo medical examinations and are interviewed by police. If there is a criminal trial, victims suffer a loss of privacy, and their credibility may be challenged. Victims may also become the target of slut-shaming, abuse, social stigmatization, sexual slurs and cyberbullying. These factors, contributing to a rape culture, are among some of the reasons that may contribute up to 80% of all rapes going unreported in the U.S, according to a 2016 study done by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Sand Van Roy is a Belgian-Dutch actress and advocate for victims of sexual violence.
15-year-old Nicole van den Hurk disappeared on her way to work on 6 October 1995, in Eindhoven,. Her body was later found in the woods between the towns of Mierlo and Lierop on November 22, 1995.
Ferdinand Bernhard Joseph "Ferd" Grapperhaus is a Dutch politician who served as Minister of Justice and Security in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).
On the morning of 10 August 1998, 11-year-old Nicky Verstappen disappeared from a summer camp he was attending in Brunssum, Limburg. His body was found on the evening of 11 August, 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) away in Landgraaf, and a murder investigation was subsequently launched. Despite extensive investigation, the case remained unsolved for over twenty years.
Shortly after protests seeking justice for the murder of George Floyd, an African-American who was killed during a police arrest, began in the United States, people in the Netherlands protested to show solidarity with Americans and to demonstrate against issues with police or racism. Vigils and protests of up to thousands of participants took place nationwide.
Pieke Roelofs is a Dutch artist, activist, photographer and whistleblower. In 2019, Roelofs successfully traced the location of a suspect in her own rape case who had previously been unfindable by the police.
Mees Hendrikx is a Dutch cyclist, who currently rides for the Crelan–Corendon team in cyclo-cross, and UCI Continental team Alpecin–Deceuninck Development Team for his road races.
Vivianne L.W.A. Heijnen is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party. She has been serving as the Minister for the Environment as part of the fourth Rutte cabinet since January 2022. Heijnen was previously head of the Brussels campus of her alma mater Maastricht University, and she was active in local politics in Maastricht as municipal councilor (2010–18) and alderwoman (2018–22).
In human sexuality, paralysis, also known as rape paralysis, involuntary paralysis, fright, or tonic immobility, is a natural bodily survival reaction which can be automatically activated by the brain of a person who feels threatened by sexual violence. During this paralysis, one cannot move and cannot say anything, until one feels safe enough again. This survival reaction is a reflex; it automatically occurs without one's conscious choice, and one cannot stop it from happening. Paralysis is a survival reaction which the brain applies to the body whenever all other options to avoid sexual violence have been exhausted.
Songül Mutluer is a Dutch politician, serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 2022. She is a member of the Labour Party (PvdA) and has served as a Zaanstad municipal council member and alderwoman for fifteen years before. Having studied law, Mutluer has also worked as a legal professional and taught law at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Janou Levels is a Dutch professional football player who plays as a defender for Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Levels has captained the Netherlands women's national under-23 football team, and she has been capped for the Netherlands national team twice. She previously played for Dutch teams CTO and PSV.
Paul Kusters is a Dutch cartoonist and visual artist. His cartoons have been published in various national and regional Dutch newspapers since the 1990s. He drew weekly media cartoons for de Volkskrant for 15 years. He also made cartoons for Het Financieele Dagblad for 10 years.
Emma Kok is a Dutch singer. She rose to prominence in 2021 after winning the tenth season of The Voice Kids. In 2023, her performance of "Voilà" with André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra went viral, amassing over 30 million views as of December 2023.