Assaulted By Another Student Association Member, Board Is Refusing To Classify The Case And Sanction Him As Such.

Hi everyone,

TW: sexual assault

Location: Netherlands

Posting anonymously due to an ongoing internal appeal within a Dutch student association.

acknowledgement: I understand no one can give specific legal advice here, I’m just trying to get a sense of how this would generally be viewed by people with experience in the field.

I’m trying to understand whether, based on the facts, an issue would more likely qualify as sexual assault (aanranding) under current Dutch consent law, rather than “sexual intimidation”.

Context (Netherlands, 2024 consent-based law): Under the new Dutch consent-based law (in force since 2024), sexual assault occurs when someone engages in sexual acts without voluntary consent and knew or should reasonably have known consent was absent.

I attended a student association event where afterwards, in my opinion, I was raped. I had consumed roughly 6–7 drinks, plus additional shots. The other person had also been drinking heavily. We ended up at his house, I am not clear on why anymore.

My memory becomes fragmented I remember him kissing me, I did not explicitly resist, but felt uncomfortable. The next clear memory: we were on his bed. My blouse and pants had been removed, I do not remember taking them off myself. He was partially undressed.

He lay on top of me pinning me down (at least that is how it felt physically) and put his hand under my underwear. He later asked if I was “okay,” but I was unable to respond. I felt frozen. He removed my underwear and attempted penetration multiple times. I remember silently crying. and dissociating. At one point I pushed his shoulders to try to move him off me, but he pushed back harder.

He was ultimately unable to "succeed" and shortly after got up to vomit (due to alcohol).

Afterward, during internal proceedings, he stated he does not remember anything from entering the house until vomiting. I wrote a detailed account of the night; he read it and agreed that it accurately reflected what happened.

Association outcome:
The board concluded that they could not clearly establish whether consent was present or absent and imposed the maximum sanction available for “sexual intimidation” (4-week suspension). They did not classify it as sexual assault, which would carry a heavier sanction.

I am considering an internal appeal.

My question (purely legal perspective under Dutch law):
Would these facts more likely meet the threshold for sexual assault (aanranding) given the current consent framework?

Again, I understand no one can give specific legal advice here, I’m just trying to get a sense of how this would generally be viewed.

Thank you.