Dutch commission: sexual abuse of children common

AMSTERDAM - Associated Press

Hürriyet photo

A Dutch commission has found that sexual abuse of children after they have been forcibly taken from troubled homes and put into state-funded institutions is common. It estimates around 23 percent of such children are abused - more than three times the national average.
 
The commission was set up in May 2010 during a similar investigation into Catholic boarding homes.
 
Chairwoman Rieke Samson said Monday the commission has since received more than 800 complaints, some dating back decades, and referred 42 of them to prosecutors.
 
The commission found that more than half of abuse came at the hands of other, often older children.

Adult men were the abusers in around two-thirds of the remaining cases, while girls made up two-thirds of victims.