Former minister Klaas de Vries (73) is going to lead an investigation into sexual abuse of children within Dutch sports clubs on behalf of sports federation NOC*NSF, sources have told the Volkskrant.

The association has chosen De Vries because he has no connections with the world of sport and will not be hindered by any conflict of interest issues, the paper said.

The first thing the committee is going to do is formulate its goals. ‘That is a vital part of the investigation. They will want to know how many people suffered sexual abuse and the type of cases involved,’ sports law professor Marjan Olfers told the paper.

According to Olfers, who did her own research into sport related sexual abuse, the abuse in clubs is similar to the abuse which took place within the Catholic church.  She said it is important for the committee to pay attention to the psychological consequences of the abuse and to offer incentives to encourage victims to come forward.

Sanctions

‘It could be compensation or sanctions for the perpetrators or preventive measures. Whatever it is, the committee must be clear about it,’ Olfers is quoted as saying.

The NOC*NSF has been prompted to launch the investigation after hundreds of footballers came forward in Britain to talk about being abused by trainers. And last December, Dutch cyclist Petra de Bruin told Nieuwsuur she had been abused by her trainer for years.

The Volkskrant says it has spoken to dozens of victims who said they didn’t have any faith in the complaints procedures at the clubs or the NOC*NSF itself.

Victims are often reluctant to come forward for fear of not being believed and ending up in legal procedures with uncertain outcomes because it is their word against the perpetrator’s’,  the paper writes.