The Netherlands’ State Secretary for Justice and Security Claudia van Bruggen announced in a letter to parliament on Monday that children born as a result of incest are entitled to compensation.
Van Bruggen is building this upon the outcome of a recent court case in the Netherlands, in which the RvS (Council of State) ruled that a man born of incest was entitled to compensation.
Highest administrative court rules in favour
In the case of the man, he was birthed by his mother who was sexually abused (as a minor) by her father. This meant that his biological father was also his grandfather.
The man suffered abuse at the hands of his mother, and filed for compensation from De commissie van het Schadefonds (The Compensation Fund committee), which initially ruled he wasn’t eligible in 2023.
However, the District Court of Gelderland ruled in his favour in 2025. The committee then appealed to the Council of State.
The Council of State ultimately took the man’s side. It found that both the mother and son suffered severe psychological consequences as a result of the incest.
According to NU.nl, the council determined that “A child born of incest is directly violated by this crime in his right to psychological integrity and identity development.”
Must have suffered serious pyschological damage
One caveat to Van Bruggen’s announcement is that the person born of incest must demonstrate that they suffered severe psychological damage as a result.
In the case of the man and his mother, this was proven, with the judge ruling that the damage he suffered was strongly linked to the fact that he was a result of incest.
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