Since 2000, attention to transgressive sexual behaviour has been growing. The Sensoa Flag System is a response to the need to mitigate situations.   

Read more about the development and impact of the Flag System. 

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    Why a tool on transgressive sexual behaviour?   

    Since 2000, attention to transgressive sexual behaviour and sexual abuse is systematically rising. It became increasingly clear that transgressive sexual behaviour had remained under the radar for years. 

    The increasing flow of testimonies from victims also increases the demand for tools to analyze and mitigate situations. 

    From original version (2011) to numerous applications 

    Development 

    In 2009, Sensoa decided to construct the Flag System.  Erika Frans (policy officer for prevention of transgressive sexual behaviour at Sensoa) took the lead.    

    Together with her colleagues, Erika identified six criteria for the Flag System to determine whether a certain behaviour gets a green, yellow, red or black flag. With each colour comes an appropriate

    First version of Flag System handbook 

    In 2011, the book 'Sensoa Flag System' was presented to the press. Erika Frans is the first author, Sensoa colleague Thierry Franck the second.   

    Several colleagues from the Netherlands, from the organizations Rutgers and Movisie, also collaborated on it. The Flag System caught on immediately and had several further developments. 

    Applications in different sectors  

    A version specifically adapted to the situations of people with a disabilty was developed under the name Buiten de Lijnen (only available in Dutch), with the help of colleague Karen De Wilde.    

    ICES made a version for the sports sector with Sensoa (only in Dutch).  

    Adapted versions were also developed for youth work and the culture and media sectors. 

    Also for adults  

    In 2021, Sensoa published a version of the Flag System for adults with Erika Frans as author.  

    At the same time, 2 of the 6 criteria were adapted:  

    • 'Age-appropriate' became 'appropriate to the level of development and functioning’.  

    • 'Self-respect' became 'impact'. 


    Flag System online 

    In 2023, Sensoa developed an online course on the Flag System, the websites Vlaggensysteem.be (Dutch website) and Flagsystem.org. Tara De Laet, Frank Degeest, and Karen De Wilde contributed to it.     

    Applications abroad  

    The Flag System is used by colleagues in Wallonia, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and other countries. 

    Moving towards a thorough impact assessment?   

    Sensoa welcomes a thorough impact assessment of the Flag System, but this requires a large investment in people and resources. Meanwhile, we note that it is finding its way across Europe as a useful educational tool.     

    The Flag System is a tool that has come about primarily empirically: by analyzing many real-life situations and engaging in dialogue about them with people who have faced difficult situations.  

    As part of a further development into residential care for young people in the Netherlands, the (positive) impact of the introduction of the Flag System was mapped.