Supported projects

AMSTERDAM/BRUSSEL/STOCKHOLM - The European approach to legislation on sex work is a complex patchwork of contrasting policies, each of which claims to prioritise the welfare of workers, but often falls short in practice.

MANILA - After corona, the problem of online sexual abuse and exploitation has only intensified. At any time of the day, 750 000 people worldwide are searching for images of child abuse. As many as 1 in 5 children in the Philippines face it. Yet international interest in the problem is declining.

IJMUIDEN - After pulse fishing was banned by the European Parliament in 2018, many Dutch fishermen switched to flyshooting. However, flyshoot fishing mainly targets species for which there is too little data to manage stocks properly. These are not subject to quotas and fishermen can take them out of the sea without limit. And that is a recipe for overfishing.

AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS - Gay & Grey is a documentary series by director Julia M. Free in a co-production with VRT Canvas and DeMensen. The series follows the daily lives of senior lesbian couples, aged 70 and above, whose relationships have stood the test of time.

THE HAGUE - The Ministry of Defence is considering hiring private companies to guard the North Sea because the navy and coastguard do not have enough equipment and personnel. The decision follows research findings on Russian spying activities in the region among others investigated by Pointer KRO-NCRV and VRT NWS in cooperation with six other countries.

COBQUECURA - 4.3 babies are born every second in the world. For a woman, childbirth is one of the most profound physical and emotional events in her life. Yet childbirth, like the female body in general, remains undervalued and under-researched.

BRUSSELS - Our meat consumption must go down, and to facilitate this, an army of producers is ready with alternatives. Some found inspiration in age-old recipes, others are reinventing meat altogether.

SOFIA/BUDAPEST - When people think of adoption, they think of poor countries in the global south. However, Flanders and the Netherlands adopt children from other European countries, such as Bulgaria and Hungary. This cross-border investigation shows that Roma children in these countries are discriminated against and end up in the adoption system due to stigma, poverty and a lack of support for families.

BRUSSELS/AMSTERDAM - In June 2020, following protests in the United States, colonial heritage in Belgium became fiercely debated.

BRUSSELS/AMSTERDAM - According to the European Commission, half of the sustainability claims on company websites are unproven, vague, unclear or downright deceptive. Clothing companies in particular use terms such as 'sustainable' more frequently than other companies without providing further information. Since 2021, both the Dutch and Belgian governments have been searching the internet for misleading sustainability claims.