A series of reports produced by Radio Netherlands Worldwide and the Dutch NRC Handelsblad newspaper on sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church has been nominated for the ‘De Loep' (The Magnifying Glass) investigative journalism prize. The award is given annually by the Dutch-Flemish Investigative Journalism Association (VVOJ).

RNW’s Robert Chesal and NRC Handelsblad’s Joep Dohmen worked closely together to unearth much new information about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The two journalists were able to track down victims and others involved in what went on, who were often able to tell intensely personal and gripping stories about abuse in Dutch boarding schools run by Catholic institutions.

Excerpt from the jury’s citation:
“Dohmen and Chesal’s concise and meticulous work made it clear that what had already come to light in other countries also went on in the Netherlands: systematic and long-term abuse by Roman Catholic clerics.”

It is the seventh year the VVOJ’s ‘De Loep’  prize is being awarded. There are three categories: texts, audio-visual productions and the encouragement prize. The RNW/NRC Handelsblad production has been nominated in the ‘texts’ category.

The winners will be announced on 19 November during a dinner at the VVOJ conference in Ghent in Belgium.