This article references child sexual assault and rape.
Steven van de Velde once dreamed of an elite sporting career. This dream was “shattered” in 2016 when he pleaded guilty to raping a then-12-year-old child two years before. He was given a four-year sentence but served only 12 months in a Netherlands prison.
During the trial, his defence Linda Strudwick, declared, “He has lost a stellar sports career and has been branded a rapist […] It’s plainly a career end for him.”
But hang about! Van de Velde is competing at the Summer Olympics in Paris! He'll be playing elite beach volleyball all summer – he may even win a medal! Yep, in an extraordinary turn of affairs, Van de Velde has overcome all adversity to achieve his wildest dreams. Cue the BBC montage.
A source close to Van de Velde reportedly said, “He knows he committed a big, big mistake, but he has tried to satisfy every requirement to resurrect his dream of having an elite sports career. He knows this black period will be brought up every time he competes, especially at the Olympics, and he is prepared for the criticism.”
That's right, raping a child is just a mistake – sorry, a “big, big” mistake – that shouldn't stand in the way of men achieving their dreams.
Not content with playing the fool, Van de Velde is also comfortable playing the victim. After his release from prison in 2018, he told Dutch broadcaster NOS, “I made that choice in my life when I wasn’t ready; I was a teenager still figuring things out. I was sort of lost, and now I have so much more life experience, aside from just being incarcerated.”
The resources and helplines you need to know.
The discourse surrounding Steven Van de Velde largely focuses on his ‘mistakes’, his lapses of judgment, and his personal growth. Why is such little thought extended to the now 22-year-old woman who was raped by him as a child? How might it feel for her to see his name trending on social media? How might it feel for her to watch the Olympics, knowing her rapist could appear on screen at any moment? How might it feel to be the footnote in a story about your own trauma?
I know from my own personal experiences – as well as my previous work with survivors in a women's refuge – that sexual violence changes the trajectory of your life forever. For many people who've survived sexual abuse, particularly child sexual abuse, the trauma is simply inescapable. It can warp your ability to trust, wreaking havoc on personal and intimate relationships. It can leave you with psychological damage, increasing your risk of self-harming, suicide, depression, and anxiety. It can even increase your likelihood of being diagnosed with a chronic illness, such as type 2 diabetes or heart disease, in later life.
That's not to say there isn't life after sexual or physical abuse – there is, and it can be beautiful – but it's not a given.
Lucia Osborne-Crowley reported on Ghislaine Maxwell's trial for helping Jeffrey Epstein abuse women and girls. Her new book unapologetically focuses on the survivors.
While life can be touch-and-go for survivors, you can often rely on their abusers to bounce back – especially if they're in the public eye.
Earlier this week, news broke that Chris Brown is being sued by four men who allege that he instructed his entourage to brutally attack them. He has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
This is, of course, the same Chris Brown who admitted to assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna back in 2009. While the attack has certainly haunted his career – as he posted on Instagram last year "If y'all still hate me for a mistake I made as a 17 year old please kiss my whole entire ass" – it's barely dented his popularity; he even won “Favorite Male R&B Artist” at the American Music Awards in 2022.
Still think allegations ruin men's lives? Look to Johnny Depp. In 2020, he lost a libel case against The Sun, which referred to him as a “wife-beater”. The English trial found that the allegations against him were “substantially true” – although a US trial in 2022 found Amber Heard guilty of defaming him. Hardly a social pariah, Depp still has a lucrative contract with Sauvage, received a standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival, and was recently spotted enjoying drinks with none other than Ed Sheeran and Russel Crowe.
And the less said about the man currently running to be President of the USA, the better.
“Reform’s manifesto was the only one offering real, bold action.”
Abuse allegations don't ruin famous men's lives – they just don't. They're a chance for overpaid ‘crisis consultants’ to take control of the public narrative. Abuse can be re-framed as a pivotal moment in the perpetrator's life; whether it's the moment they realised the error of their ways or their ability to survive malicious defamatory attacks from disgruntled ex-partners.
I often refer back to Heard's op-ed for The Washington Post – for which she was sued by Depp and mocked by the world – in which she wrote that she had “the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”
The Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC) said Van de Velde had undergone a “specialist treatment programme” and that he "fully engaged with all requirements and has met all the stringent risk assessment thresholds, checks and due diligence. Experts have stated that there is no risk of recidivism.
"Van de Velde has consistently remained transparent about the case which he refers to as the most significant misstep of his life. He deeply regrets the consequences of his actions for those involved."
Paula Radcliffe has apologised after wishing Van de Velde “the best of luck” after defending his right to compete in the Olympics.
In an interview with Andrew Marr on LBC, she said he “shouldn't be punished twice”. She later clarified these comments on X, tweeting, "I stress that it isn’t something that can be excused in any way. I was confused in my head and responding to the right to ban him from the Games and I don’t know why I wished him luck. Again I apologise.”
Unfortuantely, the entire case is yet another example that while victims must fight for scraps to survive, perpetrators are rewarded with Oscar-worthy redemption arcs or, in Van de Velde's case, another shot at gold.
GLAMOUR has reached out to Chris Brown's team for a comment. This article will be kept updated.
For more information about reporting and recovering from rape and sexual abuse, you can contact Rape Crisis on 0808 500 2222.
If you have been sexually assaulted, you can find your nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre here. You can also find support at your local GP, voluntary organisations such as Rape Crisis, Women's Aid, and Victim Support, and you can report it to the police (if you choose) here.
If you are worried that you or someone you know is being groomed, you can access Victim Support’s Children and Young People Services. You can contact your nearest Victim Support office, call the 24/7 Supportline, contact them via live chat, or if you are 16 or older, you can create a My Support Space account.
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
