Trading well-being for economic efficiency: The 1990 shift in EU childcare policies

In 1992, the European Union (EU) adopted the Recommendation on Childcare and became involved in childcare policy. For the first time, care services and domestic care were acknowledged as the common responsibility of all the European and national political units. The article shows the interaction between childcare policy at the European level and in three welfare states with strong male breadwinner policy logics: Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (UK). At the European and national levels, arguments prioritizing economic efficiency and equal opportunities gained ground at the expense of arguments prioritizing the well-being of children. Formerly male breadwinner states reached a consensus on the policy goal of shared responsibility for caregiving by emphasizing common economic interests and the principle of equal opportunities while still allowing for nation variability in how this policy goal will be carried out. © 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved

Child abuse: a common problem in Curaçao?

Objective: To assess the prevalence of child abuse among high school students in Curacao. Methods: A questionnaire survey among high school students up to 17 years of age was conducted. The questionnaire was based on existing literature and validated questionnaires. The questionnaire used was analysed and adapted to the situation in Curacao by a panel of experts on child abuse. The primary objective was to gain insight into the incidence, prevalence and various forms of child abuse among students in Curacao. Five forms of child abuse are distinguished in the literature: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and exploitation. Furthermore, the degree of confidence of the students in general practitioners (GPs) as care providers in the field of child abuse was explored. Results: Questionnaires from 545 of the 628 respondents were included. In total, 43% of the respondents had ever-experienced an event which could be defined as (a form of) child abuse. More than one-third of the respondents reporting child abuse ever had an experience that could be interpreted as physical abuse. More than 15% of the respondents reporting child abuse had experienced sexual abuse. Girls experienced significantly more sexual abuse than boys. Emotional abuse in the last year was experienced by 3% of the respondents. One per cent of the respondents ever-experienced neglect. According to most respondents, GPs were not seen as care providers in cases of child abuse; they believed that GPs were mainly to be consulted for illnesses or physical symptoms and not for forms of child abuse. Conclusion: The prevalence of ever-having-experienced a form of child abuse is estimated at 431 per 1000 students. Child abuse, particularly physical abuse, is common in Curacao, and is probably comparable to other surrounding countries. General practitioners were not seen as care providers in identifying and reporting cases of child abuse according to most respondents

Termination of pregnancy in Curaçao: Need for improvement of sexual and reproductive healthcare

BACKGROUND: In Curaçao Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) is still forbidden by law, although a policy of tolerance has been stipulated since 1999. This paper is about the prevalence of TOP and about its health complications. These data on TOP are officially unknown but are suspected to be rather high. METHODS: One year registration of illegal performed termination of pregnancy cases by all general physicians (GPs) practicing TOP in Curaçao. The registration included patient characteristics according to the model of the National Abortion Registration in The Netherlands, adjusted to the local Curaçao situation. Socio demographic characteristics, number of previous pregnancies and TOPs, pregnancy duration, contraception methods and reason for failure were registered. The comparative part of the research compares TOP rates of Curaçao with those of Antillean women in the Netherlands. The gynaecologists in the referral hospital registered complications requiring hospital admission after TOP. RESULTS: All GPs performing TOP participated and the majority registered extensively. The total number of registered TOP was 1126. 666 of the 1126 were registered using the local adjusted Abortion Registration Model. With 30.000 women aged between 15 and 45 living in Curaçao, the TOP rate was at least 38 (per 1000 in that age category), comparable to rates for Antillean women in the Netherlands. Mean age was 26.9 years. Nearly half (47%) had one or more TOPs before; the majority (53%) was less than 7 weeks pregnant and two third (67%) had one or more children. Two third of the women did not use contraception (63%). For those using contraception, main reason for failure was inconsistent use (50%). There were 14 hospital admissions due to complications of TOP. CONCLUSION: The number of TOP is high in Curaçao and comparable to (first generation) Antillean women living abroad in the Netherlands. Most unintended pregnancies originated from no or inconsistent use of reliable contraception. Improvement of sex education is necessary in order to bring down the number of TOP, as well as realizing accessible and affordable contraception, including sterilization. The number of complications around TOPs was equal to other countries where TOP is illegal

Water-, milieu- en ruimtecondities vaatplanten : implementatie in Model for Nature Policy - MNP 2.0

Model for Nature Policy (MNP) is ontwikkeld om op nationale of regionale schaal de status van de biodiversiteit te beoordelen. MNP is al geparameteriseerd voor dagvlinders en broedvogels; dit werkdocument bespreekt de toevoeging van vaatplanten. Hiervoor zijn optimale en suboptimale ruimte-, milieu- en watercondities voor plantendoelsoorten bepaald op basis van SynBioSys, neergeschaalde natuurdoeltypenkaart, kritische waarden voor stikstofdepositie en GVGinformatie uit Waternood. We concluderen dat het modelleren van plantensoorten met MNP moeilijker blijkt dan voor de soortgroepen vlinders en vogels; voor 40% van de plantensoorten kon een bruikbaar model gemaakt worden. De huidige analyses laten zien dat voor slechts een beperkt aantal plantensoorten ruimte de beperkende factor is voor duurzaam voorkomen. Milieu- en watercondities doen er meer toe, wat in lijn is met de huidige wetenschappelijke aanpak in veel modellen