Send nudes? 750,000 people sexually harassed online in the Netherlands in 2020

While the streets of the Netherlands may feel considerably safer for some internationals when it comes to sexual harassment, it seems that no one’s DM’s are safe.

In 2020, a whopping 750,000 people in the Netherlands were the victims of online sexual harassment, a study by CBS (Statistics Netherlands) has found.

This amounts to 5% of the Dutch population and can you guess who were the most badly affected — women! (Shocking!) In particular, young women between the ages of 16 and 18 suffered the most, accounting for 30% of the claims.

Coming in second place were women between the ages of 18-24, who made up to 24% of the claims.

Indeed, the study found that women were 1.5 times more likely to suffer online sexual harassment than men, with 6.7% of women surveyed saying they had been harassed online. This percentage was lower for men, standing at 4.1%.

Bisexual women and gay men badly harassed

The study also revealed that, of those within the LGBTQIA+ community, bisexual women and gay men suffered the most when it came to unsolicited DM suitors.

And what was it exactly that people were suffering? A lot of thirsty, desperate, and dirty-minded people it appears.

Unwanted nudes, videos and comments

Of those who took part in the survey, 2.1% had to deal with sexually offensive jokes or comments online, 2% were faced with unwanted nudes and sexually explicit videos, 1.8% had to deal with people insisting that they date them, and 1.6% were asked to send nude photos or videos. 🙄

Yikes. Are you shocked by these figures? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Feature Image: Daria Nepriakhina/Unsplash

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
Before becoming the Senior Editor of DutchReview, Sarah was a fresh-faced international looking to learn more about the Netherlands. Since moving here in 2017, Sarah has added a BA in English and Philosophy (Hons.), an MA in Literature (Hons.), and over three years of writing experience at DutchReview to her skillset. When Sarah isn't acting as a safety threat to herself and others (cycling), you can find her trying to sound witty while writing about some of the stickier topics such as mortgages and Dutch law.

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