Dutch study links slavery legacy to mental and physical health risks

AMSTERDAM--A new exploratory study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) concludes that the legacy of the Dutch trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery can still influence health outcomes today, affecting both the mental and physical health of descendants of enslaved people, as well as experiences within the health care system. The report, Eindrapportage Gezondheidseffecten van Slavernij, was authored by Dr. Alana Helberg-Proctor of the University of Amsterdam (UvA).

The study highlights a significant knowledge gap in the Netherlands and Europe regarding how slavery’s historical legacy continues to shape health. While the existing research base is limited, the report finds sufficient evidence in international literature and expert input to point to both direct and indirect impacts, including intergenerational trauma, present-day racism and discrimination, and broader social conditions that influence health.

The research examined three core areas:

• How the slavery past may affect mental health among descendants
• How it may affect physical health among descendants
• How slavery’s legacy may still influence health care education, practice, and policy in the Netherlands

Conducted between March and October 2025, the study combined a wide literature scan with interviews and focus groups involving experts from academia, health care, government, and civil society.

Key findings

1. Limited Dutch and European research base
The report notes that much of the existing research on slavery’s health impacts comes from the United States, with relatively little work directly focused on Dutch historical and social contexts. This limits how precisely impacts can be described and addressed locally, and strengthens the case for follow-up research rooted in the Netherlands and the wider Kingdom context.

2. Intergenerational trauma and chronic stress
Intergenerational trauma and weakened trust in institutions are identified as central themes. The report describes how descendants may experience a “double burden,” carrying inherited effects linked to ancestral trauma while also facing contemporary racism and discrimination. This is connected to chronic stress, which is associated with poorer health outcomes.

3. Health care systems and education require reflection and change
The report points to the historical role of medicine within slavery systems and argues that stereotypes and unequal treatment can persist in modern health care through education, practice norms, and institutional culture. It also notes that Eurocentric standards can distance care systems from communities when lived experience and other knowledge traditions are not recognized.

Recommendations

The report outlines an action agenda focused on closing the research gap and reducing health inequities. Key recommendations include:

• Coordinating and funding national follow-up research through VWS, including research infrastructure focused on slavery’s health legacy and its present-day mechanisms
• Establishing a national knowledge exchange platform, supported by a taskforce that includes experts and representatives of descendant communities
• Strengthening awareness and professional competence in the care sector by integrating this history and its implications into training and education
• Taking stronger, more explicit action to address racism and discrimination in health care, including bias and unequal treatment that shapes patient experience and outcomes

The study emphasizes that it is exploratory and that substantially more work is needed to document the Dutch context in greater detail, including research linked to the experiences of enslaved people in the Dutch Caribbean and Suriname, and the pathways through which past and present harms affect health today.

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