Rijswijk Mayor’s Initiative on Domestic Violence Highlights Structural Problems Requiring Action

Mayor Huri Sahin of Rijswijk © Municipality of Rijswij

The Dutch city of Rijswijk is still reeling from the deadly shooting of a 38-year-old woman last weekend, a case the city’s mayor, Huri Sahin, has labeled a “femicide.” While police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing by a 57-year-old male suspect, the crime shines a new spotlight on the dangers women face as well as the Rijswijk mayor’s unique approach to potential crime victims in her city. 

In April, Sahin took the unprecedented step of opening up her email inbox to all victims of domestic violence in her constituency who feel unsafe at home. 

Sixty people have responded to her call since she announced the initiative six months ago.   

At least 1.2 million Dutch people, aged 16 years or older, reported having been victims of domestic violence in 2019, Statistics Netherlands found. In Rijswijk alone, 290 reports of domestic violence were filed in the first half of 2023, according to the municipality.

Sahin has identified several problems common to the cases victims have shared with her. The first is that women often wait a long time to take action after experiencing violence or control from their partners. “When you get used to the way of life, it is difficult to say ‘stop’ and call the police,” Sahin told The Glass Room.

She explained that when the victims decide to take action, some are discouraged by police, who may downplay the severity of domestic violence as simply problems requiring the attention of a relationship therapist. When police do investigate, many victims then face bureaucratic hurdles. 

“Can you imagine what it is like when you have a problem and you have to talk not with one person —  not one doctor for example — but ten or twenty,” Sahin asked, clarifying that a lack of coordination between police and social protection organizations can often leave a victim lost. 

Everyone should take it seriously when a woman says, “I’m in danger.”

For example, one of the women Sahin helped, was placed in a hotel for her safety. “She heard nothing for three days from any organization. She didn't know if she should stay longer there and how her children would eat. So, we have to better look after the women we are helping.” 

In late 2023, following the murders of two women by their respective partners in Rijswijk, a victim of domestic violence contacted Sahin, saying that the police were not taking her case seriously and she needed help. Sahin intervened in that case, which led the police to take it more seriously and open an investigation.

The two murdered women left behind six children, who now have trauma for life, which Sahin says is “not good for our municipality or our country.” This was an additional reason for her to announce her initiative for direct communication with domestic violence victims. 

“Representation of Domestic Violence” © Anna Milovanovic

Sahin mentioned that she often invites victims, the police and support organizations to meetings to assess a case and determine what can be done to resolve it.

"I wish that other mayors would do this," explained Hélène van Kampen, spokesperson for AROSA/Kessler Perspektief in the Hague, an organization that provides domestic violence victim support. 

Sahin has worked directly with the police and mayors of neighboring municipalities, to help victims without income find housing. She previously told Omroep West that she can issue restraining orders as well as provide extra enforcement in a neighborhood or extra police surveillance.

Sahin said that intervention by the mayor can help to solve the problem and the situation be taken more seriously, but that is not the solution to tackling domestic violence. 

“I think the best solution is that every organization, every civil service, the police, take it very seriously when a woman comes to them and says ‘I'm in danger,’” she said. 

She has put domestic violence on the agenda of 29 other mayors in her region and the police as well as the Public Prosecutor’s office.

She maintains that when people are threatened by domestic violence and they do not feel safe, their first step should be to call the police at 112. If they feel the police are not handling the case effectively and the situation is serious or too complicated,  they should email her.