Veilig Thuis ‘displeased’ about police reports about children A12 activists Yesterday, 10:50 PM in Domestic Reporting and advice point Veilig Thuis responds that such a report should not be a punitive measure and believes that the reports have been turned into a kind of threat.

The police in The Hague have made “more than thirty” reports to the Veilig Thuis hotline in response to parents who took their children to the Extinction Rebellion demonstration on the A12 on Saturday. The police announced this in response to reports from NRC and AD. Safe at Home reacts displeased. “It’s really not intended for that,” said a spokesperson.

“We had to hear about this through the media and we were surprised to learn of it,” says the spokesperson for Veilig Thuis. “We were surprised that parents were told that a report would be made. Reporting to Safe at Home is not the same as going to the supermarket and buying a pound of sugar. That is a vulnerable action: you receive reports of child abuse there. “

It became clear earlier that dozens of minors were arrested during Saturday’s demonstration. According to the The Hague police, reporting is “standard procedure for arrests in which children are in danger” and this has also happened during previous Extinction Rebellion demonstrations against fossil subsidies. The police cannot say which danger at Saturday’s A12 blockade necessitated a report to Veilig Thuis.

‘Reporting is not a punitive measure’

The child abuse hotline says that it does not yet appear that many reports have actually been made. “We are a network organization of 25 affiliated organizations and for the time being they are not seeing a huge influx of reports.”

According to Safe at Home, a report should not be used as a kind of threat. “That you hear: ‘be careful, otherwise we will make a report’. It now appears that the reports have been used as a threat or a potential punitive measure. It is really not intended for that. We hope that a report can be safely be done and can lead to a safe situation.”

‘Loose threat’

Veilig Thuis is a reporting and advice point for child abuse and domestic violence, and the organization encourages people to report child abuse, domestic violence or suspicions thereof. “There are numerous grounds for reporting, but taking a minor to a peaceful demonstration is not one of them. And even if the police, in all their wisdom, decide that this is the case, this in itself does not lead to an investigation. This means that the police therefore made a somewhat empty threat.”

Following the reports, Veilig Thuis contacted the police and will continue to discuss this with the police after today. The police have not yet responded to Veilig Thuis’s displeased response. That is expected to follow on Tuesday.