Every year, dozens of children and young people from the Netherlands are sexually exploited in Belgium, according to research by the Dutch Centre Against Child and Human Trafficking (CKM). The victims are most often exploited in Antwerp, where there is a large prostitution industry.
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Dozens of Dutch children and youngsters sexually exploited in Belgium every year
Colin Clapson
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A few years ago, the CKM received a report suggesting that young women from a care home in the Netherlands were possibly being sexually exploited in Germany. A wider enquiry among various organisations led to further reports that victims from the Netherlands were also being exploited in Germany and Belgium.
“As a result we investigated this cross-border exploitation for the first time,” explains CKM researcher Verena Elders. “We know that many children are exploited within the Netherlands. Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that their exploitation stops at the country’s borders.”
Elders conducted a survey of 220 support workers, police officers, survivors and other professionals from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, and carried out in-depth interviews with several of them. The CKM concludes that, over a two-year period, those surveyed came into contact with an estimated minimum of 125 victims, 99 of whom were exploited in Belgium and 26 in Germany.
Hotels, sex clubs and holiday parks
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Wieke van der Kroef, director of the Flemish and Antwerp-based non-profit organisation Payoke, which has been working on the issue of human trafficking for many years. During the period covered by the survey – 2021 to 2023 – of all support workers, only three Dutch victims were reported to Payoke. That is far fewer than the CKM’s estimate.
The study focused specifically on sexual exploitation, whereby victims were forced to perform sexual acts in exchange for payment, with someone else receiving the money. Children and young people aged between 14 and 23 were involved.
“Victims are exploited in all sorts of places in Belgium: hotels, sex clubs, perpetrators’ homes or holiday parks,” explains Elders. “The study highlights locations in Flanders in particular, and Antwerp is mentioned with striking frequency.”
Particularly in Antwerp
One interviewee in the study referred to Antwerp as ‘The Hague South’. “For some, it’s close by,” Elders continues. “Furthermore, the city also has a large prostitution industry. Exploitation takes place within this sector too, even of minors.”
In the study, 27 respondents named Antwerp as a place of exploitation, 7 named Brussels and 3 named Turnhout. Maasmechelen, Genk, Ostend, Kinrooi, Maaseik, Hooglede and Ghent were also mentioned on a few occasions.
‘Antwerp is a large city, close to the Dutch border, and the same language is spoken here,’ adds Van der Kroef of Payoke.
Better cooperation needed
There are various reasons why Dutch victims are also exploited in Belgium. Perpetrators realise that they can earn money across national borders. Furthermore, the chance of being caught is lower if the perpetrator takes a victim to another country. Victims can also be isolated more from their social circle, and the risk of being recognised can be avoided.
For perpetrators, a national border offers a kind of invisibility and protection; for support workers, that border makes things a great deal more difficult. “As a victim, you simply must be able to receive protection, regardless of national borders,” says Elders. “We therefore advocate much closer cooperation between the countries.”
For example, someone currently working in youth care in Breda in the Netherlands does not know who to contact if there is a problem in Antwerp involving one of their young people. “It is very unclear to them who is responsible,” explains Elders.
Rarely reported to Payoke
Dutch victims are often sent back to the Netherlands by the police without a report being made to Payoke. “That means we cannot refer them to the appropriate authorities in the Netherlands either,” says Van der Kroef.
According to Payoke, more effort is needed to train professionals to recognise the warning signs; more public awareness campaigns should be launched to let people know where victims can turn for help; and victims should be referred more quickly to specialist organisations.