Reports of child abuse are up and we’re told to buy sustainable farming produce. Supermarket war is declared, we’re shocked by how much the Afghanistan mission is costing and there’s a page-three girl with a difference.

Epidemic of abuse
The papers all have radically different front pages again today. AD leads with the story that Children’s Ombudsman Marc Dullaert reckons well over 115,000 Dutch children suffer mental or physical abuse or neglect each year.

He says that would-be parents should follow courses designed to combat child abuse and has the backing of a majority of MPs, according to AD. “It should be normal to go to parenting courses, just like women go to antenatal/birth classes,” he explains.

His idea is that prospective parents would learn beforehand how to deal with the frustrations involved in bringing up children. He slams the government for passing the buck to local councils, saying child abuse is a national problem.

Trouw picks up on this aspect - on an inside page - pointing out that the number of reports of abuse and neglect have gone up 10 percent since 2005. It quotes Mr Dullaert:

“We call it an epidemic if 15 in every 100,000 people have ‘flu. With child abuse, it’s 34 children in every 1,000. And then, we’re only talking about the number of reports. You probably have to multiply this by two.”

Battery farming and health risks
Oddly, Trouw gives more prominent coverage to Deputy Agriculture Minister Henk Bleker’s call for supermarkets and consumers to lead the way in the move to more sustainable farming.

He agrees that farming methods have to become less intensive and more animal-friendly, but is unwilling to force farmers into the change which, he says, must be market-led.

Intensive battery farming, with its mega-sheds housing thousands of animals – and the resulting environmental problems - is a hot topic in Dutch agricultural communities. These are often in traditionally Christian areas, and this could explain Trouw’s interest in the issue.

The paper highlights the human health risks involved in intensive farming: for example, the problems of cross-infection and the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. A Dutch health service spokesman criticises the minister for not adequately dealing with a problem that involves public health.

Market-led change?
On its front page De Telegraaf - which seems rather meagre on domestic news today - runs a piece on an upcoming supermarket war. The Jumbo supermarket chain has taken over the C1000 chain with a “knock-out bid” of 900 million euros. The new supermarket conglomerate is set to challenge market leader Albert Hein, says the paper.

With a new supermarket price war in the offing, the idea that the retail sector will be willing to lead the push towards sustainable farming, with its more expensive produce, seems rather pie-in-the-sky. Deputy Agriculture Minister Henk Bleker may have to think again about leaving it to market forces to turn farmers in the direction of more animal-friendly practices.

Afghan mission’s price tag
De Volkskrant goes it alone again today, devoting the whole of its front page (and more) to official figures about the police training mission to Afghanistan. The price tag of the mission is set to work out at a whopping 500,000 euros per Afghan officer trained this year.

The mission has been plagued by problems, many stemming from its limited mandate – MPs in The Hague insisted that Dutch-trained Afghan officers should not be involved in combat with insurgents. Just 189 Afghan officers will receive training from the Dutch, while the paper reckons the bill for this year alone will come to 105 million euros.

A defence expert defends the expenditure, saying the mission is good international PR for the Netherlands. He explains that nations not joining the international forces in Afghanistan face international isolation. “That could damage a small economy which, it should be said, also presents itself as a centre for international justice.”

Page-three girl?
It’s the picture that shocks you as you turn to page three of today’s nrc.next. A presumably life-sized blow-up plastic sex doll seems to straddle the blocks of print. She – it is of course a female image – has hair, a made-up face and is complete with large breasts and orifices ready for use by frustrated males.

The paper reports that sex addiction is now said to be in the top three addictions, together with alcohol and nicotine. Apparently a growing number of addiction clinics, both private and public, are offering help to people – mostly men – wanting to kick the habit.