State of affairs research on domestic distance and adoption between 1956 and 1984
All people who have reported to the Application Point for Domestic Distance and Adoption in the period between September 2019 and 31 July 2020 will receive a message from Fiom or the Verwey-Jonker Institute this week. In it, the Ministry of Justice and Security informs them about the state of affairs with regard to the Verwey-Jonker Institute's research into domestic distance and adoption between 1956 and 1984. Unfortunately, this research is delayed because errors were made in the design of the Application Point.
Errors at the reporting point
A report was made of every call that was received at the Application Point. Not all requirements of the privacy legislation have been met during the processing and storage of the reports. The people who told their story should have been asked for written permission to use and keep the interview record. Also, all applicants should have been given the opportunity to check and correct their report. At the time, this only happened if the applicant asked for it during or after the interview. As far as is currently known, mistakes have been made in a number of interview reports. Due to all the shortcomings, the responsible ministry has reported a data breach to the Dutch Data Protection Authority.
Excuses
All the people who have shared their story have taken a bold and difficult step that deserves a lot of appreciation. Thanks to the decision of all those referrers to share their story, we know what happened in the past and we can learn lessons from it. Minister for Legal Protection Sander Dekker said publicly in the Lower House that the errors should not have happened at the Application Point. He has expressed regret to all who registered at the reporting point.
Committee of independent experts
Following critical reports from the advocates in the spring of 2020, the House of Representatives has requested the Minister for Legal Protection to appoint an 'expert of stature'. The Minister has set up a committee of independent experts consisting of two 'experts of stature': Prof. Dr. Catrin Finkenauer (chairman) and Prof. Wendy Schrama. They are now looking at how the Application Point worked and what that means for confidence in the research. The committee will of course speak to the advocates of the referrers. The chairman of the committee has already approached the advocates about this.
Verification and correction of interview reports
The Minister for Legal Protection has further decided that all applicants should still be given the opportunity to view and correct their interview report and indicate (in writing) what it may be used for. Only in this way can the mistakes be corrected.
The way in which those involved were dealt with at the time left deep traces on them. Everyone involved has the right to be acknowledged for the suffering that has been done to them. Only with reports that have been checked and where necessary improved can the investigation by the Verwey-Jonker Institute be completed correctly.
The errors made are repaired in the so-called 'verification and correction procedure'. It also aims to help restore your confidence in the research.
The Minister for Legal Protection will have the Central Audit Service investigate whether the verification and correction procedure has been set up in such a way that your personal data and all other notifying parties remain properly protected. The Audit Service also checks whether the rights of all applicants are guaranteed in this procedure. In addition, the Minister asked the Committee of independent experts to assess the procedure. The verification and correction procedure only starts after the green light from the Commission.
Delay in the investigation
Because we correct the errors of the Application Point carefully and with the cooperation of all applicants, the investigation of the Verwey Jonker Institute is delayed. The researchers are expected to complete their research report after the summer of 2021. The report will then be available via rijksoverheid.nl.
Preserving the stories
Parallel to the research, we are thinking about the way in which all reports can be stored. This only concerns the reports of which the data subjects have given permission to keep them. If you have ideas about how best to do justice to the stories about this period in our history, or if you have any other suggestions for providing recognition, please share them with us at projectsenceadoptie@minjenv.nl .
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