A Re-Evaluation of the Role of Criminal law in Combating Parental Violence in the Netherlands Access to Criminal Justice

This article analyses the scope of the responsibility of the State to ensure access to criminal justice for child victims of parental violence from a children’s and human rights perspective and how this would serve the best interests of the child before, during and after criminal proceedings. The purpose of this article is to establish a human rights framework to promote better understanding of the multi-faceted problems inherent in the combat of parental violence by means of the criminal justice system, articulate obligations imposed upon States and facilitate a holistic approach. The article also explores to what extent the Netherlands, presented as a case study, meets the obligation to provide child victims of parental violence with access to criminal justice and whether there is a need to re-evaluate the role of criminal law in combating parental violence in the Netherlands


Introduction
Although Pinheiro stated in his worldwide study that all violence against children is preventable,1 parental violence has regrettably proven to be difficult to stop in the Netherlands throughout the last fifteen years.2Experts raised concerns about the increase in parental and domestic violence because of the 'stay at home' measures during the Covid-19 pandemic.3Their warning is justified as parental violence causes serious harm and too often leads to the death of children.4 From 1985, victims of violence and their access to and place in the criminal justice system have received attention at the level of international and European human rights.5According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (crc), access to (criminal) justice for child victims of parental violence and safeguarding the best interests of the child victim are the responsibility of the Dutch State.6The European human rights system, both from the Council of Europe and the EU, has defined several (new) State duties to ensure access to criminal justice.In practice however, empirical studies concerning the Netherlands have shown that several hurdles hamper access to criminal justice for victims of parental (sexual) violence.7These hurdles concern their young age, their vulnerability because of the violent crimes, and their dependent status.The vulnerable status of child victims raises the question whether States not only have to provide access to criminal justice, but also to ensure effective access by assisting the child victim upon entering the criminal justice system.
In addition to these hurdles, there is also an ongoing discussion about the desirability of such access rights.Although it is becoming increasingly clear that children's and human rights give rise to protection against violence through criminal law enforcement, this is still controversial since human rights traditionally led to restrictions in the use of criminal law, representing the most severe instruments at the state's disposal.8On the one hand, this debate argues for a more intensive use of criminal justice instruments to combat parental violence, emphasizing the vulnerability and dependence of the victim.9On the other hand, it argues against overuse of the criminal justice system, drawing attention to the negative consequences for offenders and society invoking the so-called 'ultima ratio' principle.10 Protection against parental violence is, even more than domestic violence, closely related to important values like family life and the rights of parents to raise their children in accordance with their own (religious) principles.These parental rights and concerns that the use of the criminal justice system could damage family relationships and break up families are also obstacles to the use of criminal justice in tackling parental violence in the Netherlands.11 Other concerns about the use of criminal law are that child victims will suffer additional damage due to the system's lack of child-friendliness.An additional reason why the use of criminal law in the Netherlands still plays a modest role is that since the beginning of the 20th century, the Dutch State diminished the role of criminal law in dealing with parental violence in favour of responses based on civil law.12Despite policy strategies of the Dutch government that focused mainly on the prevention of parental violence and voluntary help for parents,13 parental violence figures have remained high in the Netherlands.The Children's Rights Committee has repeated its concern about this in 2022.14Dutch governmental reports after children have died from parental violence show that much violence remains invisible.15 The question is therefore how the Netherlands should respond to existing violence that children suffer from in their home situation.Various amendments to the law and decentralization to the municipal level have been initiated to lead to improvements.
The reason for this study is that, despite the increased attention at the international and European human rights level, there is currently no complete picture of the duties of the State16 to utilize criminal law in the approach of parental (sexual) violence.Although the Dutch state17 has implemented international and European regulations in its national law, this study explores to what extent the Netherlands meets its duties to use criminal law when tackling parental violence, thereby combining theory and practice.This article also answers the question how this would fit in with the most used approach through civil law, the decentralization of parental violence approaches to the local level and the Dutch focus on general prevention by offering voluntary welfare services.18Ultimately, the question whether the Netherlands needs to reevaluate the role of criminal justice in the approach of parental violence is answered.Additionally, this article aims to promote better understanding of the multi-faceted problems inherent in the combat of parental violence and facilitate a holistic approach, while it not only articulates State duties to provide access to criminal law, but also during and after criminal proceedings.This approach encompasses the questions whether and how criminal enforcement could benefit child victims and their family and serve the best interests of the child victim.
The second section of this paper provides a review of the special needs of victims of parental violence and the complexities that exist in accessing the Dutch criminal justice system.To assess the scope of the responsibility, the third section reviews the development of the duties of the State not only according to the crc and the European Convention on Human Rights (echr),19 but also according to the European Social Charter (esc), the more recent Lanzarote and Istanbul Conventions20 and European Union (EU) law.The fourth section compares these State duties to Dutch domestic law and practice and assesses what is already in place and what still needs to be done in this area.The research questions are answered in the conclusion of this article.The forms of violence that this article focuses on are serious parental physical, sexual, and psychological violence, often associated with serious neglect.

Complexities of Accessing the Criminal Justice System
Access to criminal justice for child victims of parental violence is a complicated issue, both on the individual level of the child victim and on the level of responsibility of the State.To understand these complexities, this section reviews the detrimental effects parental violence has on the victim, the occurrence, and the nature of parental violence as well as the challenges that the Dutch State faces in criminally responding to parental violence.Parental violence and neglect undermine the basic sense of security and the natural bond between parents and child and thus, the sense of security and trust with which children stand in the world.21Additionally, parental violence has serious detrimental short-and long-term effects on the health of children and contributes substantially to both child morbidity and child mortality.22Consequently, parental violence is a serious public (mental) health issue in the Netherlands.23Parental violence also results in economic costs due to health service utilization and productivity losses in adulthood.24These productivity losses relate to the long-term effects of parental violence on mental and physical health, as this can cause depression, self-injurious behaviour, suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, obesity, problematic sexual behaviour, and criminal and violent behaviour.25   domestic violence between adults are interrelated26 and have similarly high levels of occurrence.Both types of crime represent the majority of violent crimes reported to the Dutch police27 and are crimes that are difficult to stop, as is clear from the high rates of recidivism.28These high rates of recidivism and the (often) hidden nature of the (sexual) violence, challenge the relevant institutions to effectively detect, address and stop this type of offence.Detecting and addressing parental violence is also complicated because it may conflict with the 'right to family life'29 of parents and caretakers and with their parental authority.
On the individual level of the child victim, their battered status, dependency on the perpetrator and young age, while especially young children fall victim to parental violence,30 are complicating factors in their access to the criminal justice system, as these factors, for instance, generally make it hard to report the violence to the police.There are also complicating factors at the level of the responsibility of the Dutch State to adequately respond to parental violence by means of the criminal justice system.First, for a long time, civil law measures were considered the most appropriate response to parental violence and more in the best interests of children than the involvement of criminal courts.31These civil measures lead to restrictions on parental authority and in many cases to placement in care.32Second, since the turn of the century, administrative legislation in the Netherlands aims at the general prevention of parental violence by deploying voluntary help in the welfare system under direction of the provincial authorities.33Citizens and professionals, including the police, must refer parental violence to these authorities.As of 2013, professionals have been required to use a reporting code and since 2019, with regard to serious parental violence, there is a duty to refer.34Since the decentralization of youth care in 2015 due to administrative law amendments, the municipalities have become responsible for combating parental violence and referral takes place to the Safe Home Centre.35Third, although as of 2000 the focus has been on a multi-agency approach, this mainly focused on cooperation between the administrative law oriented youth care system and the civil child protection system.It was only in 2015 that policy was developed to promote cooperation between the youth care system and the criminal justice authorities.36Finally, prosecuting parental (sexual) violence is difficult because of the hidden nature of this type of violence and the complications in evidence collection.37 The special needs of child victims of parental violence, as considered in this section, are important indicators for the duties of the State to assist these victims in getting effective access to the criminal justice system.The following section takes a closer look at the meaning and objective of the concept of 'access to criminal justice' and reviews the scope of the responsibility of the State in both ensuring access as well as taking the child victim's best interests as a primary consideration during and after criminal proceedings.

3
Access rights instruments (Council of Europe and EU) and the interpretation thereof by the corresponding monitoring bodies.

The Seven State Duties According to International Children's Rights
From a children's rights perspective, access to justice is an important part of the child's right to participation42 and the ability to lodge complaints and seek redress without parental consent before a court is particularly important in relation to complaints concerning parental (sexual) violence.43 The crc Committee addressed the first of the seven State duties, the duty to prohibit parental violence in the law, in its first General Comment on parental violence in 2006.44 The Committee stated that to make it absolutely clear that it is as unlawful to hit a child as it is to hit an adult, explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in civil or criminal legislation is required.Furthermore, criminal law must apply fully to assaults on children and repeal a defence in criminal proceedings such as 'reasonable chastisement' , which might find the violence of a parent lawful.45 The first children's rights instruments already addressed the duty of the State to protect against (repeat) victimization.46 -The 1959 Declaration of which a child may directly issue a complaint with the crc Committee is not (yet) ratified by the Netherlands.42 Under Article 12 of the crc and the accompanying General Comment no. 12 of the crc Committee, children's views must be considered and weight to be given to these views depending on their age and maturity.43 R. Hodgkin  the Rights of the Child stated that the child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation.47Thirty years later, the crc adopted the child's right to 'life, survival and development' as one of its general principles and stipulated that "no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment."48The crc makes it clear that all forms of violence from a smack to a beating should not be countenanced49 and requires the State to take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.Access to (civil and criminal) justice is one of these measures.50 The duties of the State to investigate and prosecute cases of parental violence did not initially have a sound basis in the crc Committee, who observed that the dependent status of children and the unique intimacy of family relations require that decisions to prosecute parents should be taken with great care and are, in most cases, unlikely to be in the child's best interests.The aim should be to stop parents from using violent or other cruel or degrading punishments through supportive and educational, not punitive, interventions.51 In 2011, the Committee's standpoint on the duties to investigate and prosecute shifted, in line with the Model Strategies launched by the UN on the elimination of violence against children.52The Committee stated that rigorous but child-sensitive investigation procedures help to ensure that violence is correctly identified and to provide evidence for, among others, criminal proceedings.When appropriate, criminal procedures should be established, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice in a swift and coordinated cross-sectoral manner.However, where perpetrators are primary caregivers, within the child's safeguards and depending on the severity and other factors, intervention measures focusing on social and educational treatment and a restorative approach are often preferable to purely punitive judicial involvement.53 The crc also addressed the duty to rehabilitate; the State must take measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of child victims.Appropriate health care and other treatment is required for the serious damage to the physical, psychological, and social development while giving due weight to the child's views, which is also in line with the child's right to the highest attainable standard of health.The Committee addressed the duty to compensate in its second General Comment in 2013 and formulated the duty to protect against secondary victimization with the obligation to enact child-sensitive criminal proceedings.54

3.2
The Seven State Duties According to Council of Europe Legal Framework Although the preceding subsection clarifies the duties from a children's rights perspective, it is important to add the human rights perspective, while the Council of Europe has also been active in the field of parental violence for a number of decades.55This subsection reviews the seven State duties according to the echr, the esc, the Lanzarote and Istanbul Conventions and the interpretation thereof by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR),56 the European Committee of Social Rights (ecsr),57 the Lanzarote Committee and the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (grevio).58 In 1985, the ECtHR stated in a (most notably Dutch) case, regarded as a leading judgment, that civil protection of wrongdoing such as the rape of a mentally handicapped 16-year-old girl, is insufficient, while fundamental aspects of private life are at stake.In such cases, effective deterrence is indispensable which can only be achieved by criminal-law provisions, which provide practical and effective protection.59In 1998, the Court issued a similar judgment in a case of parental violence, referring to the duty to prohibit parental violence in the criminal law.The case concerned a stepfather who, after being charged with beating his stepson, had successfully invoked the English criminal defence of 'reasonable chastisement' .Parental violence was, to a certain extent, allowed under English law, as long as it was seen as 'reasonable' and thus this legislation offered insufficient protection against parental violence.60In a 2003 case, the Court even gave its opinion on the content of the desired criminal provisions by stating that provisions of rape of a minor do not require proof of physical resistance.61More recently, in a case of parental sexual violence, the Court reiterated that effective protection requires efficient criminal-law provisions and that the protection afforded by civil and custody proceedings is insufficient.62In 2003, the ecsr also ruled that the prohibition of all forms of violence must have a legislative basis regardless of where it occurs or of the identity of the alleged perpetrator and that the sanctions available must be adequate, dissuasive and proportionate.63What is more, if the domestic criminal code only prohibits 'violence against persons' , even when provisions enable to impose increased penalties when the victim is a 59 The case concerned a complaint about the failure to prosecute the rape suspect.ECtHR child, this is in breach of the esc.64Additionally, the ecsr ruled in 2006 that States' domestic law must also prohibit and penalize psychological parental violence.Clear and precise domestic case law is needed as well, showing that the provisions have been interpreted as prohibiting corporal punishment65 and that the criminal defence of the 'reasonable chastisement argument' can no longer be used.States cannot tolerate 'moderate chastisement' and parental violence, even when it lacks gravity, is unlawful.66The Lanzarote Convention also stipulates criminalization of parental sexual violence.67Additionally, the Lanzarote Committee urged States, in its first implementation report in 2015, to review their criminal legislation and stipulate that the age limit for engaging in sexual activities is irrelevant and the use of force, coercion or threat is not a constituent element of the crime.68The most recent Istanbul Convention also stipulates that sexual violence and rape are non-consensual sexual acts69 and that parental violence, including sexual and psychological violence,70 must be criminalized and punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, taking into account their seriousness.71 The ECtHR defined the duty to protect the child victim against repeat victimization for cases of parental violence for the first time in 2001 and 2002.In both cases, the British authorities did not take action to prevent a repetition of severe (sexual) violence.72As soon as the domestic authorities are aware (or ought to be aware) that a child is victim of parental (sexual) violence, known as the 'Osman test' , the State is under the obligation to put an end to it.73In 2007, in a case concerning the murder of the applicant's children by their father, who had been violent with them, the Court found that the competent authorities, particularly the police, had failed in their positive obligation to take preventive action to protect the children's lives.74In 2011, the Lanzarote Convention introduced the duty to conduct a risk assessment in order to assess the possible risks of a repetition of the parental sexual violence.75In 2018, the Lanzarote Committee urged States to put in place a risk assessment tool or procedure.76Additionally, also with the aim to stop a repetition of the violence, the Lanzarote Convention introduced treatment for sexual offenders inside or outside prison.77The duty to protect against repeat victimization plays an important role in the Istanbul Convention as well.Law enforcement agencies should respond to all forms of violence promptly and appropriately, conduct a risk assessment and offer adequate and immediate protection to victims.78If needed for the safety of a child, a measure against a perpetrator may be withdrawal of parental rights, but States are also urged to set up support programmes aimed at teaching perpetrators non-violent behaviour in interpersonal relationships to prevent further violence.79 In 1985, in the aforementioned Dutch case, the ECtHR stressed the need to provide a minor with the possibility to file a complaint with the court about non-prosecution of sexual violence and thus allow them access to criminal justice.80Although the Court professed a preference for criminal prosecution in 1995,81 and formulated a duty to prosecute in cases of extra-familiar sexual violence,82 its parental violence case-law, although clear on the duty to investigate, does not provide clarity on the duty to prosecute.In 2015, the Court held that states must conduct an official and prompt investigation, determine criminal liability if a child is injured by a parent and if such is the case, impose a penalty,83 but in 2017, the Court showed a restrained approach to prosecution of parental violence and only formulated the duty to investigate parental violence cases in a timely and effective manner.84Similarly, the ecsr did not explicitly formulate the duty to prosecute, but stated that courts must interpret legislation as prohibiting corporal punishment and apply criminal law effectively.85The Lanzarote Convention, however, is much clearer on the duties to investigate and prosecute than the echr and the esc, while it highlights the importance of criminal proceedings.States must ensure an effective and swift investigation and prosecution of parental sexual violence.86It is important to note that the Lanzarote Convention stipulates 'ex officio prosecution' of parental sexual violence for the first time in a Council of Europe Convention.In 2015, the Lanzarote Committee reiterated the importance of ex officio prosecution in its first implementation report about parental sexual violence.States must prosecute parental sexual violence without a report.87The Istanbul Convention also emphasizes the duty to investigate and prosecute and more importantly, the duty of ex officio prosecution.88 When we look at the duty to rehabilitate, staying together of the family is an important point of attention, on which the Court has regularly ruled regarding civil proceedings for custodial placement.In such proceedings, the ECtHR wants States to comply with the right to family life of parents and children.89The right to rehabilitation in criminal proceedings has not yet been sufficiently reflected in proceedings before the ECtHR.In contrast, the Lanzarote Convention emphasizes rehabilitation of the child victim and their family through mental health programmes and long and short-term assistance for the victim's physical and psychosocial recovery.Additionally, the removal of the victim from their family environment should be seen as a procedure of last resort.90The Istanbul Convention also stipulates a duty to rehabilitate in the form of easily accessible (sexual) violence centres, which provide for trauma support and counselling.91 In 2017, the ECtHR ruled that the right to compensation of a child victim in criminal proceedings regarding parental violence, and a failure to examine this right, even though the victim did not claim compensation, was in breach of the victim's right to a fair trial.92The Lanzarote Convention does not provide for the duty to compensate,93 but the Istanbul Convention does include the obligation of compensation by the perpetrator or the State.94 From 2002 onwards, the ECtHR paid attention to the seventh State duty, the duty to protect against secondary victimization.The ECtHR ruled that especially child victims have the right to be heard only once, outside the courtroom and without a confrontation with the alleged perpetrator, provided that the defence is sufficiently compensated for the lack of the opportunity to challenge and question the child witness at a court hearing.95The Lanzarote Convention introduced several new rules to ensure a child-sensitive criminal procedure.The rule that stands out the most is that the State must provide free legal aid and appoint a special representative in parental violence cases, because the parent is precluded from representing the child because of a conflict of interests.Another important new rule is a court hearing without the presence of the public and that the victim does not have to be present during

The Seven State Duties According to European Union Law
In addition to the duties of the State according to children's and Council of Europe human rights, the EU also provided for significant advances in its legal framework for victims' rights, which will provide a complete view on the scope of responsibility of the State.100This subsection delineates the seven State duties according to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, post-Lisbon treaties and the secondary legislation, which is the Victims' Rights Directive, its predecessor, the Framework Decision and the Child Sexual Abuse Directive.
In 2010, with regard to the first duty to prohibit parental violence in the law, the EU conducted a feasibility study to assess the possibilities of harmonizing legislation on the prohibition of parental violence within the EU and concluded that no Member State criminalizes corporal punishment to the The father was sufficiently compensated for this because the studio interview had been videotaped, which recording had been made available to the defense and was also shown during hearings, which enabled the defense to bring up any issues regarding the credibility of her statement.Additionally, multiple experts reported on the studio interview with R. and that the applicant had been given the opportunity to question three of these experts in court.Furthermore, the father's request for a developmentalpsychological examination of the girl was carried out and he had the opportunity to discuss and challenge the findings of this examination.96 Art Decision purported to confer children the right to be heard outside the courtroom and, not uncontroversial, that the doctrine of indirect effect applied to the Framework Decision, so that children can exercise this right.113However, although the Framework Decision acted as a first legal instrument to improve the position of victims of crime, it's effect depended on the implementation on the Member States, which did not take place adequately.114 The EU adopted a more comprehensive and improved instrument, the 2012 Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support, and protection of victims of crime (hereafter Victims' Rights Directive),115 while in 2011 the EU already adopted the 2011 Child Sexual Abuse Directive (further: csa Directive).116Although directives have a stronger legal status than framework decisions, the rights contained therein also have to be implemented in the Member States, which can again lead to the situation that victims cannot effectively use the rights enshrined in the directive, all the more so as victims can rarely invoke these rights directly or indirectly.117In spite of these observations, the Victim's Rights Directive and csa Directive include substantial changes that favourably influence the position of crime victims.118An important advancement is that, unlike its predecessor, the Victim's Rights Directive pays extensive attention to the rights of children and acknowledges child victims as 'full bearers' of these rights, including the right to protection, in accordance with the principle of the child's best interests.119The csa Directive stipulates the duty to prohibit parental sexual violence in criminal law and make it punishable and even specifies minimum-maximum sentences for parental sexual violence.The reference in the Directive to the age of consent though seems inappropriate and should not play a role when there is sexual violence by a parent, family member or person to whom the minor is entrusted.120The Victim's Rights Directive puts more emphasis on the duty to protect against repeat victimization than the Framework Decision, and introduces the duty to carry out an individual risk assessment, especially for child victims.121In this regard, the csa Directive introduced effective intervention programmes for offenders on a voluntary basis in order to prevent and minimize the risks of repeated parental sexual violence.122  Victims in the Netherlands have 14 rights: (1) the right to information about victims' rights, (2) the right to an interpreter if the victim does not understand Dutch, (3) the right to inspect the documents, (4) the right to be informed when an offender goes on leave, is released or is not deprived of liberty,(5) the right to free help, advice and information, (6) the right to assistance by a lawyer in the event of a report and/or court hearing, (7) the right to protection, to prevent repeated or renewed victimization, (8) the right to report the crime, and also (9) the right to complain if the report does not lead to a criminal case, (10) the right to speak during a court hearing, (11)  Sentences for rape of one's child between 0-12 years old will be raised from 12 (current dcc) to 15 years imprisonment and for sexual acts excluding rape, which is introduced as a separate offence, 10 years imprisonment.For children 12-16 years old the sentence for rape is raised from 8 (current dcc) to 12 years and for sexual acts excluding rape, which is introduced as a separate offence, 8 years imprisonment.149 Prosecutorial guidelines have been drawn up by the national board of the Public Prosecution Service, the Board of pg, and give an indication of the penalty that the public prosecutor may demand in case of prosecution.For more information see note 159.150 Prosecutorial guideline (2022R005) prescribes 120 hours community service and 2 months detention for assault of one's child, which led to severe damage, 8-24 months detention (possibly partly conditional) for aggravated assault of one's child, 4-8 years (possibly partly conditional) detention for attempted manslaughter of one's child, 8-12 years for manslaughter or murder of one's child, while the maximum prison sentence for manslaughter of an adult is 15 years detention, which will soon change into 25 years and the maximum sentence for murder of an adult is 30 years or life imprisonment.Positive developments are that since 2013, parental sexual violence can no longer be statute-barred and since 2020 the statute of limitations for parental violence is extended by changing the starting point for this term to the day after the minor victim has turned eighteen.151Although case law also needs attention, as there are regular criticisms that the penalties are too light,152 in 2017 a parent was convicted for psychological parental violence for the first time.153 States have the duty to protect children against repeat victimization, which encompasses (preventive) action by the police, an adequate risk-assessment, a multi-agency approach and treatment for offenders.
Tragically, the Dutch State is unable to prevent parental child killings, as research showed that in the period 2009-2014 eighty children were killed by their (step)parent(s).154Other governmental investigations155 showed that regarding the death of 13 children and parental violence against 11 children in the period 2011-2016 (many) public authorities, including the police, were involved.The investigations concluded that the local authorities did not effectively escalate the case to a higher level of authority and revealed a lack of cooperation between the different civil and criminal authorities.An adequate serious threat.161These Designations also mention conditional sentences which include forced treatment and probation supervision.Although as of 2017, to implement the Victim's Rights Directive, the individual assessment to assess protection needs is implemented in Dutch law, implementation with the police still lacks in practice.162Moreover, it is striking that in the most recent prosecutorial Designation of 2022 the individual assessment that the police should make is left to the Safe Home Centre, despite criticisms expressed by grevio in 2020.163A positive development is that, to implement the Victim's Rights Directive, the police or the prosecutor must refer a child victim to victim support.164Therapeutic support programmes aimed at teaching perpetrator parents to adopt non-violent behaviour towards their children, often incorporated in conditional sentences, to address underlying (aggression) problems, are another positive development.165However, the National Rapporteur166 concluded that fewer and fewer convicts of child sexual violence received supervision from the Probation Service in the period 2015-2019.167 The duty to investigate cases of parental violence is explicitly included in all human rights instruments, which emphasize a thorough police investigation and evidence collection, even without a report.
Although a child victim of parental violence may be hesitant to report to the police, Dutch research showed that in most of the cases (48%), child victims reported the violence themselves.Parents (40%) and other family members 161 The mayor and the chief Public Prosecutor can take specific measures to ensure the safety of victims.162 Victims of Criminal Offenses Decree, art.(5%) also reported to the police.Professionals from the Safe Home Centre or the Child Protection Board did not report parental violence frequently (7%).168However, several circumstances hamper the investigation by the Dutch police.First, as of 2007,169 the police must refer cases of parental violence to the Youth Care Bureau, the predecessor of the Safe Home Centre.170As of 2015, due to the decentralization process,171 the police must refer to the Safe Home Centre, who will then start an investigation, so that the police will not investigate themselves.172This problem not only exists with regard to parental violence, as research showed that victims of intimate partner violence who want to press charges have difficulties getting their cases taken up by the police and are discouraged to report these crimes.173grevio was informed that pressure is being put on these victims to accept action they do not want, such as referral to the Safe Home Centre.Second, the decriminalizing tendency seems to have been accelerated by the decentralization of 2015 because victims must also refer both domestic and parental violence to the Safe Home Centre instead of to the police.Thus, according to grevio, the current emphasis in the Netherlands seems to be on social interventions in conjunction with the Safe Home Centre rather than on criminal justice interventions.174Third, when there is a police investigation, as of 2013 the police have the legal right to dismiss a report about parental violence so that the report is not sent to the public prosecutor.175Unofficially, the police already dismissed parental violence cases before 2013, which became apparent in a governmental report of 2010, which revealed that the police dismissed 27 per cent of the parental violence cases.
As a result, these cases were not submitted to the public prosecutor.176Fourth, a lack of parental consent for evidence forensic examination of the child victim may hamper criminal investigations.177 A positive development is that in the bill for the renewal of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in addition to a complaint about not prosecuting, citizens may also file a complaint if the police do not want to investigate their case.178 The duty to prosecute has evolved in the human rights system and, since 2011, there has even been a duty to prosecute ex officio.
Dutch research showed that prosecution of parental violence does not happen frequently.In 2008, Dutch public prosecutors prosecuted 815 cases of an estimated 105,000 cases of parental violence and neglect.179Ten years later, the number of reported cases of both parental violence and domestic violence to the Safe Home Centre totalled 64,095 cases in the first half of 2018.Of these cases, 420 were reported to the police and the public prosecutor and 395 to the Child Protection Board (civil law procedure).180In the same year, other Dutch governmental research showed that, in many cases concerning violence against minors, there is ultimately no prosecution.181In 2020, grevio reported that, while there are a few examples of good practice, it is particularly concerned about the low prosecution rate, the high number of waived cases and the low conviction rate considering the high incidence of domestic violence.182Although based on these figures the total amount of cases that the police or the public prosecutor investigated cannot be assessed, the figures indicate a modest role of the criminal justice system in tackling parental violence.183In 2015, the crc Committee expressed its concern regarding the increasing number of incidents of parental violence in the Netherlands and recommended that all cases needed to be investigated, the alleged perpetrators prosecuted, the convicted punished, and the victims adequately compensated and rehabilitated.184In 2019, grevio also expressed its concern and noted that there is no specific plan nor a coordinated approach in the Dutch criminal justice sector as to meet the requirements of the Istanbul Convention in the area of criminal justice, save for a referral to the Safe Home Centre.185grevio stated that the Dutch State must do more to ensure a prompt and appropriate response from the responsible law enforcement agencies in cases of domestic (including parental) violence.186Moreover, grevio found no data on ex officio prosecution in the Netherlands,187 which had also led to critique by the National Rapporteur, who stated that it is unclear why the Public Prosecution Service launches few ex officio investigations.188The Rapporteur also stated that few cases are reported and that in 2019 fewer cases have been forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service.Additionally, cases frequently end in a dismissal.189In 2021, the Rapporteur also expressed his concern about the long time between a report and a conviction, which influences the willingness to report negatively.190With regard to the duty to (ex officio) prosecute, it is important to note that the Netherlands has a civil law legal system and that the Netherlands entrusts the prosecution of criminal offences exclusively to the Public Prosecution Service.196Unlike in countries like Belgium, France, and Germany, victims in the Netherlands do not have autonomous access to prosecution.197Only the Public Prosecution Service determines whether a criminal case will be prosecuted and/or brought to court, also known as the opportunity principle,198 guided by the aforementioned Designations.The accepted interpretation of this 'opportunity principle' , which plays a fundamental role in the Dutch criminal justice system,199 is that the prosecution of criminal offences should not only occur based on the law, but also based on the general interests of society.The low rate of prosecution of parental and domestic violence in the Netherlands is difficult to explain in terms of this general interest of society.Citizens can file a complaint if the public prosecutor decides not to prosecute,200 but it is difficult for child victims to exercise this right.
As of 1989, children's rights and human rights have been clear about the duty to rehabilitate child victims of parental violence.
Research shows that to achieve the goal of victim rehabilitation, emphasis should be placed on activities that enable survivors to reconnect with others and rebuild the self.201This requires trauma treatment, but recent research shows that in the Netherlands as much as 25 to 30 per cent of traumatized children did not receive therapy or other help after a referral to the Safe Home Centre.202Additionally, in 2019 and 2021, the National Rapporteur reported that child victims of parental sexual violence did not receive the right treatment in a timely manner.203The duty to compensate developed only slowly in the children's rights and human rights system, but the latest developments are that the victim has a right to compensation from the state, which is more in his interest than compensation from the offender.
In 1995, the Dutch State made the first amendments to the Criminal Code to give victims greater opportunities during the criminal proceedings to recover damages from the perpetrator.204Since 2011, victims of violent or sex crimes can receive the full amount of compensation as an advance payment from the Dutch state.205However, procedures to obtain compensation are difficult to access for the minor victim due to the lack of criminal proceedings.
The duty to protect against secondary victimization206 gained importance due to the jurisprudence of the ECtHR and more importantly due to EU law.
The implementation of the Framework Decision (2001) in Dutch law took quite some time, in 2011 a special victim paragraph was added to the Code of Criminal Procedure.This amendment strengthened the position of victims in the Netherlands207 and stipulates that the public prosecutor (and by extension, the police) and the judge must treat victims with care and that child victims are entitled to protection and victim support.208In 2017, again well overdue in view of the 2013 implementation deadline, the Dutch State implemented the Victims' Rights Directive in its legislation and thus several new rights for victims have been included in the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure.209An example of this is the right to a referral to victim support by the police or the Public Prosecutor.Also new was the implementation of an individual assessment by the police to determine their protection needs and take measures if necessary.The right to speak in court was extended and included the possibility to speak about the evidence and the sentence.210However, Dutch research showed that in practice child victims cannot always make use of these newly acquired rights as, for instance, the child victim is often not assigned a lawyer.211Additionally, a child victim under 12 years of age does not have an autonomous right to information, while their parents do have this right.212 In addition to the amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure the Netherlands adopted the Victims of Criminal Offences Decree,213 which provides rules for the hearing of children.These rules are also written down in a Memorandum issued by the police in 2016.This Memorandum however, only focuses on minors between the ages of 12 and 18 years old.214Dutch research showed that the number of interviews is not always kept to a minimum215 and are not always recorded.216Child victims of parental sexual violence have the choice to be heard by someone of the same sex, but in practice, victims do not always have a choice.217Additionally, the presence of a legal representative or person of their choice during child interrogations, is often not permitted, since the decentralization of 2015.Despite the increased attention of the Public Prosecutor, the duty to prosecute is only partially fulfilled while many cases are still dismissed, relatively few cases are prosecuted and the obligation to prosecute ex officio is not fulfilled at all.The duties of redress are also only partially fulfilled, as parental (sexual) violence is penalized low and up to 30 percent of the victims do not receive trauma care.Few victims receive compensation, neither from the perpetrator nor from the State, while in the authors' opinion, the State would be the most appropriate party to financially compensate victims, in view of the extensive system of State duties, as has emerged from this article.Finally, the duty to prevent secondary victimization is partially met while, although sufficiently implemented in Dutch law, the effect is still insufficient in practice.
The next section, the conclusion of this article, reviews the question of what implications access to criminal justice has from the perspective of the best interests of the child, and whether there is a need to re-evaluate the role of criminal law in combating parental violence.

Conclusion
Since 2005, parental violence has not decreased in the Netherlands.This is cause for concern considering the lifelong impact this violence can have on children.If we label these children as victims, they gain, seemingly paradoxically, important rights.This contributes to the view that children, and not only adults, are holders of rights, instead of only young people in need of protection.As rights holders with the right to access the criminal justice system, the voices of child victims will be heard more clearly.223As a result, more insights can be gained into the hidden phenomenon of parental violence and these victims can receive the help they need, both physically and emotionally.Granting child victims of parental violence access to the criminal justice system will give these children a much stronger position than they would have had traditionally in the civil child protection system.Not only can they benefit materially (for example through State compensation), but also from being able to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health (through trauma-related therapy as a form of rehabilitation).The Netherlands, as a European State, has the duty to provide child victims of parental (sexual) violence with access to criminal justice.This general obligation is divided into seven duties, which together aim at a holistic criminal justice approach that serves the best interests of the child and his family.These seven State duties are the duty to prohibit parental violence in the law (the duty to provide a legal framework); the duty to protect against repeat victimization (the duty to protect from further harm); the duties to investigate and prosecute; the duties to rehabilitate and compensate (duties of redress); and the duty to protect against secondary victimization.
This study showed that the Netherlands is not yet sufficiently fulfilling its obligation to use criminal law to protect the human rights of child victims of parental violence.This is partly due to administrative law that has put criminal law at a distance and partly due to the dominant role of civil law in combating parental violence.The use of civil law alone, although understandable from a historical perspective, does not adequately meet current human rights standards, which deem the protection of civil and custody proceedings as insufficient.Another disadvantage is that civil proceedings do not satisfy the requirement of expressing public disapproval of serious offences, such as parental (sexual) violence, nor do they correctly identify the gruesome facts of parental (sexual) violence.224In addition to this, the civil law child protection system was not built to create rights for victims in the first place as it regulates the law between citizens and does not contain all the different rules and procedures created to help victims of violence to rehabilitate through treatment and compensation.When the Dutch State created the civil child protection system, this element seems to have been overlooked and was unforeseen.What is more, in recent decades, victims' rights have gained importance because of developments in international and European human rights standards.Nowadays, human rights urge the State to actively use the criminal law system in the combat of parental violence and have at the same time led to a criminal law approach that is more aware of the child's best interests.Additionally, the criminal law system has effective tools to stop violence through police intervention and change of parental behaviour towards children through mandatory treatment programmes.The function of criminal sentences such as deterrence and prevention are of importance and the State cannot prevent a repetition of parental violence by policies that mainly focus on general prevention alone.The seriousness of parental (sexual) violence and the serious damage it can cause, as well as the experience that other jurisdictions such as administrative and civil law cannot forestall or stop this violence, mean that the 'ultima ratio' or 'ultimum remedium' principle does not preclude the use of the criminal justice system in tackling parental violence.Parental violence still needs to be addressed with administrative and civil law measures, but due to the increased child-friendliness of criminal proceedings and other increased victim rights the past arguments that labelled the use of criminal law as inappropriate have become less relevant.Thus, the newly developed duties in the children's rights and human rights system require the Dutch State to re-evaluate the role of criminal law in combating parental violence and incorporate criminal enforcement within the existing civil and administrative law orientated system.The fight to put an end to parental violence could benefit from the tools the criminal law system offers to protect the most important children's rights: the right to 'life, survival, and development' and offers opportunities to break the circle of violence in families.
a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 Despite these observations, there is also a development to increase and strengthen the criminal law response to parental violence in the Netherlands.As of 2003, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service has issued several Designations, which provide mandatory rules about the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence and since 2009, these designations also focus on the investigation and prosecution of parental violence.191However, it is striking that the most recent 2022 Designation does not address the duty to prosecute ex officio, as does the 2016 Designation.192Other positive developments are improvement of medical evidence collection by the establishment of a Dutch national Expertise Centre for Child Abuse in 2014.193Moreover, in 2017, the Netherlands appointed specialized Public Prosecutors to increase the investigation and prosecution of parental violence194 and in 2020 a new medical policy regarding the identification of injuries in children was released.195

223
Children are better protected (from abuse, neglect, etc.) where their agency rights are recognized, see M. Freeman, 'Taking Children's Human Rights Seriously' in J. Todres eds, The Oxford Handbook of Children's Rights Law (Oxford, 2020) p. 6. a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 54 a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 18 'Preventie van Kindermishandeling in Gemeenten van papier naar werkelijkheid' , Child Ombudsman, 21 mei 2014, p. 7-11; Actieplan Aanpak Kindermishandeling 'Kinderen Veilig Thuis' , policy document, Dutch Ministry of Youth and Families, 2007, p. 9, 10; Dutch municipalities offer parents support and advice through the Youth and Family Centres and baby and toddler clinics, see: https://www.government.nl/topics/childabuse/strategy-against-child-abuse/preventing-and-identifying-signs-of-child-abuse,last retrieved November 2022.19 Council of Europe, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as amended by Protocols Nos.11 and 14, 4 November 1950, ets 5.The echr entered into force in 1953 and in the Netherlands in 1954.20 Council of Europe, European Social Charter, 18 October 1961, ets 35.The esc entered into force in 1965 and in the Netherlands in 1980 and 2006 (Revised esc); Council of Europe, European Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention) entered into force in 2010 and in the Netherlands in 2010; Council of Europe, European Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) entered into force in 2014 and in the Netherlands in 2016.a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55

to Criminal Justice According to International Children's Rights and European Human Rights
Vindication of the child victim's rights is one of the objects of their access to justice.38With the best interests of the child principle in mind, seven State duties regarding effective access to criminal justice emerge from the international and European human rights framework.These seven State duties are the duty to prohibit parental violence in the law (the duty to provide a legal frame- European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 Human Rights Quarterly (2001, 23, 2) p. 317.61 ECtHR, August v. the United Kingdom, 21 January 2003; C. Pitea, 'Rape as a Human Rights Violation and a Criminal Offence: the European Court's Judgment in M.C. v. Bulgaria' , Journal of International Criminal Justice (2005) p. 454; Another example is a recent condemnation of Bulgaria, which had failed to 'interpret domestic law in a manner defining rape as any non-consensual sexual intercourse' , ECtHR, Z. v. Bulgaria, 28 May 2020, par.72.62 ECtHR, R.B. v. Estonia, 22 June 2021, par.61; See also : A and B v. Croatia, 20 June 2019, par.92.63 omct v Greece (17/2003), par.32 and omct v. Belgium (21/2003), par.39. a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law , X and Y v. the Netherlands, 26 March 1985, par.27-30; see also: P.H.P.H.M.C. van Kempen, Repressie door Mensenrechten.Over positieve verplichtingen tot aanwending van strafrecht ter bescherming van fundamentele rechten (Nijmegen: wlp 2008), p. 86.60 Of the rights guaranteed in Article 3 echr, ECtHR, A. v. United Kingdom, 23 September 1998, par.24; See also:see: U. Kilkelly, 'The best of both worlds for children's rights interpreting the European convention on human rights in the light of the UN convention of the rights of the child' , European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 2002, par.110, the Court concluded that it had not been proved that the local authority had had knowledge of the stepfather's ill-treatment of the children.74 ECtHR, Kontrova v. Slovakia, 31 May 2007, par.49-55.75 Article 15 section 3 Lanzarote Convention.76 Second Implementation Report 2018, p. 56.77 Chapter V -Intervention programmes or measures, Articles 15, 16 and 17 Lanzarote Convention.See also: Second implementation report 2018, p. 52.78 Art.50 and 51 Istanbul Convention.79 Art.45 and 16 Istanbul Convention.80 ECtHR, X.and Y. v. the Netherlands, 26 March 1985, par.26-30.81 Report by the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, "Access of children to justice -Specific focus on the access of children to the European Court of Human Rights" December 2003 a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law and its case law related to children's access to national jurisdictions in the "Compilation of texts related to child-friendly justice", Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs, 2009, p. 15, par.31.82 M.C. v. Bulgaria, 4 European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 .96 Limitation of child victim interviews and hearing the child by the same, properly trained, people in suitable premises are other relevant rules.Interviews must be (video)taped for use as evidence during criminal proceedings, but also for trauma therapy.97The Istanbul Convention also gives victims the right to free legal assistance.Both conventions stress the importance of training about parental (sexual) violence for prosecutors, judges, and lawyers on how to prevent secondary victimization98 and stipulate a coordinated and comprehensive approach and effective cooperation by all relevant bodies and professionals involved in criminal proceedings to safeguard the child's best interests.99 the father of a 5-year-old girl, who sexually abused her, was declared inadmissible on the grounds that the denial of interviewing the young girl for the second time was justified in order to protect her against further harm due to the criminal proceedings.a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 34 court sessions that any act of physically disciplining of a child could be subject to a prosecution.101Currently,23out of 27 Member States prohibit all corporal punishment, including within the family home.In 1979 Sweden was the first Member State102 to introduce such provisions and most recently France did so in 2019.103In2000, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter)104 stipulated that victims must have legal aid in order to ensure access to justice and emphasized the right of victims to an effective remedy before a tribunal.105TheCharter acknowledged, for the first time in EU history, the importance of adhering to international children's rights principles in the and interpretation of EU measures and embeds the best interest principle as well as the participation principle.106Thepost-Lisbon Treaty on European Union also emphasized the importance of the protection of children's rights107 and more importantly, the competence of the EU to adopt legislation on the rights of individuals in criminal procedure.108Pre-Lisbon,the EU introduced minimum standards for victims of crime through the adoption of the 2001 Framework Decision on the standing of , last update December 2022.104The Charter became legally binding and acquired the same legal value as the Treaties with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, see: J. Gerards & E. Brems, 'Shaping Rights in the echr, the role of the European Court of Human Rights in Determining the Scope of Human Rights' (Cambridge University Press, 2013) p. 11. 105 Report of the Fundamental Rights Agency, 'Justice for Victims of Violent Crime, Part I' , 2019, p. 9; Art.47 Charter.criminalproceedings (hereafter Framework Decision).109Although the Framework Decision does not mention children explicitly, it already clearly stipulated the duty to protect against repeat victimization and implicated a duty to assess the risks.The Framework Decision mentions the importance of access to criminal justice for victims and the duties to rehabilitate and compensate, as Member States have to ensure that vulnerable victims can benefit from specific treatment best suited to their circumstances and that victims get compensation from the offender.110Making the justice systems across Europe more child-friendly is a key action under the EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child111 and the Framework Decision stipulates special waiting areas in court premises as part of the duty to protect against secondary victimization.Additionally, Member States must provide a coordinated approach to avoid partial or inconsistent solutions, which may give rise to secondary victimization.112In 2005, the European Court of Justice ruled that the Framework implemented in national law by enacting, supplementing, or changing existing national criminal law, see: Gruodytė, Edita, Milčiuvienė, Saulė and Palionienė, Neringa, 'The Role of EU Principles in Criminal Law: is the Principle of Direct Effect Applicable?' , Baltic Journal of Law & Politics (2020, vol.13, no.2) p. 49-75.Satink, Schuyt, and Sombroek European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 extent 101 European Union (2010).Feasibility study to assess the possibilities, opportunities and needs to standardize national legislation on violence against women, violence against children and sexual orientation violence.Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, p. 46.102 Finland (1983), Norway (1987) and Austria (1989) were the first countries to follow Sweden's example.See: M. Freeman, 'Children are Unbeatable' , Children & Society (1999, 13) p 132, 133.103 http://endcorporalpunishment.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Prohibiting-allcorporal-punishment-of-children-laying-the-foundations-for-nonviolent-childhoods.pdf108 Art.82(2)(c) tfeu; see also: V. Mitsilegas, EU Criminal Law after Lisbon, Rights, Trust and the Transformation of Justice, Hart Studies in European Criminal Law (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2016) p.156. a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 victims in

to pro- tect against secondary victimization
Reporting crimes must be encouraged by a respectful response from the authorities123 and victims have the right to a quick notification if an investigation ends or the State decides not to prosecute and to a review by a different authority.Because of the difficulty to report parental sexual violence, the State has the duty to help victims in getting access to the criminal justice system and even has to ex officio prosecute these crimes.124The Directives also stipulate the duties to rehabilitate and compensate victims through psychological counselling and trauma support and compensation by the offender.125States have to provide assistance for victims of parental sexual violence for as long as necessary for their physical and psychological recovery, which may even last into adulthood.126Another advancement is that both Directives set out clear rules about the duty 121 The Directive mentions the duty to protect against repeat victimization fifteen times.See: Directive 2012/29/EU Recitals 9, 17, 46, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 63 and Articles 9, 12, 18, 22 and 26; Directive 2012/29/EU, Recital 55, and Art.22(4).122 Directive 2011/93/EU, Art.24; See also Recital 39. a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 the duties to investigate and prosecute., especially for victims of parental sexual violence.Victim interviews must be audio visually recorded, kept to a minimum and carried out only where strictly necessary.Additionally, interviews must be carried out by trained professionals, conducted by the same persons, on premises designed for that purpose and new court premises must create separate waiting areas for victims.127Interviews with victims of parental sexual violence, unless conducted by a prosecutor or a judge, must be conducted by a person of the same sex as the victim.128Child victims have the right to a lawyer in his or her own name and to a special representative in case of a conflict of interests with the victim's parent.129When the parental violence has as sexual nature, this legal counsel has to be given free of charge, including for claiming compensation from the State.130Another important new rule is the possibility of a hearing in court without the presence of the public.1314 A

Review of the Compliance of the Dutch State to Ensure Access to Criminal Justice
The children's rights and human rights framework makes it clear that the scope of the responsibility of States to ensure access to criminal justice is quite broad and encompasses seven duties to help and support the child victim of parental violence before, during and after criminal proceedings.132Thissection presents an assessment of how the Dutch State incorporates these duties into Dutch law133 and practice.Since every state duty is made up of several instruments, the way in which this state obligation has effect in Dutch law is not discussed everywhere, but an attempt has been made to clarify the manner of implementation in Dutch law and practice.When the state duty is based on European Union law, attention will be paid to the implementation of these rights in Dutch law.Both the children's rights and human rights documents provide for a duty

to prohibit physical, sexual, and psychological parental violence in
the criminal law.The Dutch state banned parental violence by law in 2007 after it was twice reprimanded by the monitoring committees of the crc and the esc in 1999 and 2004.134The Netherlands deliberately chose to include the prohibition of violence in the civil code,135 in line with several other European 132 .136The legislator was of the opinion that this prohibition, which had already led to much criticism,137 should not be included in criminal law because criminal prosecution of parents would have an adverse effect on family life and would not help to prevent violence.138At the same time though, prohibition in the Civil Code could increase the use of criminal law, because this legal prohibition would make the criminal defence of the 'reasonable chastisement' useless,139 making it impossible not to classify parental violence as 'assault' .140However, because only the Civil Code was amended, the Dutch Criminal Code does not contain specific stipulations about parental physical, sexual and psychological violence.141Except for the murder or manslaughter of a new-born baby by its mother, leading to lesser sentences,142 parental (sexual) violence is only covered by general provisions of criminal law.These general provisions are 'common assault, aggravated assault, causing grievous bodily harm, manslaughter, murder, rape, sexual assault and abandonment of someone in need.'Although judges are enabled to impose increased penalties when the perpetrator is a (step) parent,143 this structure does not meet human rights Additionally, the Dutch Criminal Code, unlike in other European countries,144 does not contain minimum sentences for parental (sexual) violence although, as of 2012, community service can no longer be imposed for (the repetition of) serious parental (sexual) violence.145Coercion and (threat of) violence are not constituent elements of parental sexual violence,146 but sentences of sexual acts such as penetration of one's child between 12-15 years old are 30 percent lower than those for rape between adults.147Higher sentences for parental sexual violence will enter into force,148 which will also apply for 16 and 17 year old children, a category that is not addressed in the current Criminal Code, but will still receive lesser sentencing than rape between adults.Additionally, prosecutorial guidelines149 on parental sexual violence prescribe fairly low sentences.150 degrading treatment when they care for and raise their child' .This applies to legal guardians and stepparents as well(Art.1:248dcc); See also: T. Liefaard & J.E. Doek, 'Fysieke en geestelijke mishandeling van kinderen: over begripsvorming en de grenzen a re-evaluation of the role of criminal law European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 countriesvan het toelaatbare, volgens Nederlands recht' in: W. Deetman ed., Seksueel misbruik van en geweld tegen meisjes in de Rooms-Katholieke kerk: een vervolgonderzoek (Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Balans, 2013) p. 257.136 K. Kooijman.I. ten Berge & A. Oostveen, 'Fysieke bestraffing van kinderen.Een inventarisatie van wettelijke verboden in vier Europese landen' , (The Hague: wodc, 2003) p. 73.137 'Van pedagogische tik moet Donner afblijven' , Trouw 7 december 2004; B. Musschenga, 'Het gebruik van lijfstraffen in de opvoeding: tolereren of niet' , in: H.E.M. Baartman e.a.(red.),Kindermishandeling: de politiek een zorg, Amsterdam: swp 2005.138 Parliamentary Papers ii, 2005/06, 30316, no. 3, p. 5; See also: M. van Hintum, 'Is kindermishandeling een misdrijf?' in: K. van Beek eds., 1 op de 4, Kindermishandeling een publiek probleem (Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Van Gennep, 2017), p. over the child, cares for, or raises the child as part of his family.The last two options were added in 2009; until then, raising the sentence was only possible for legal parents, Stb.2009, 245.Satink, Schuyt, and Sombroek European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 31 (2023) 17-55 standards.144 Like Germany and Belgium, see: P.J.P. Tak, De minimumstraf opnieuw bezien.Een geactualiseerde beknopte rechtsvergelijking (Den Haag: sdu Uitgevers, 2010) p. 7-11; P.J.P. Tak, A.M. van Kalmthout, 'Ups en downs van de minimumstraf, Een verkennende studie naar het voorkomen van minimumstraffen in Frankrijk, België, Duitsland, Engeland en Wales' , Parliamentary Papers ii 2002/03, 29049, no. 1. 145 Stb.2012, 1. 146 This is still the case for rape between adults, see: K. Lindenberg & A.A. van Dijk, Overhaul of the Dutch sexual offences?An analysis of the Dutch sexual offences in terms of consistency, complexity, and standards (Groningen: University of Groningen, wodc, 2015) p. 6.New legislation will enter into force in 2024: Act on Sexual Offences of March 2021, sex with another adult in the knowledge that the other person does not want it will be a criminal offence and coercion, violence, and threats will become aggravating factors, but no longer a requirement for a conviction.147 Article 245 dcc stipulates 8 years imprisonment instead of 12 years imprisonment for sexual acts including penetration, the judge may raise the sentence by one third, according to Article 248 dcc.148 224 In criminal proceedings the facts are revealed much clearer.In practice it appears that neither the civil reports nor government reports by the Inspectorate show the facts of the parental (sexual) violence, sometimes resulting in death.Criminal judgments clearly reflect this, showing how horribly children may suffer at the hands of parents, see: A.E.J. Satink, 'De Raad voor de Kinderbescherming en de bestrijding van ernstige kindermishandeling' , fjr (2018) p. 104.