- Abortion legal status
- Illegal
- Emergency number
- 911
Updated July 2026 · Sources cited: caribbeanislandstrip.com, shadesofsummr.com
Good to know
Good to Know
- If you experience a sexual assault, medical care within the first several days matters both for your health and for preserving any evidence — go to Curaçao Medical Center's emergency department or a clinic as soon as you can.
- Stichting Slachtofferhulp Curaçao can support you emotionally, legally, and practically whether or not you decide to file a police report — locally, many relational-violence victims choose not to report, and that's understood by these services.
- If you need emergency contraception, call ahead or visit a pharmacy directly to ask about same-day availability and whether a prescription is needed — we could not confirm this island's exact over-the-counter rule, so don't assume it works exactly like your home country.
- The IUD and contraceptive implant require a clinician appointment for insertion, so these are not same-day options if you're arriving with an urgent need — plan ahead if you want a longer-term method while based in Curaçao.
- Abortion is completely illegal in Curaçao, including in cases of rape, incest, or risk to the woman's life — there is no legal pregnancy window at all.
- In practice, an unofficial 'tolerance policy' has existed since 1999 where a handful of GPs perform early first-trimester terminations without being prosecuted, but this is an informal arrangement, not a licensed medical service — there's no public quality standard, regulated pricing, or guaranteed aftercare, and women themselves are not formally protected from legal risk.
- If you need a legal, regulated abortion, Bonaire (a short flight away, and part of the Netherlands as a special municipality) legalized abortion after 2010 and is a commonly used nearby legal option; the European Netherlands is another legal route for Kingdom citizens.
- For general gynecological and prenatal care (checkups, contraception, fertility, prenatal screening), Curaçao has a solid pool of Dutch-trained OBGYNs both in the main hospital-affiliated clinic and in independent private practices in Willemstad.
- Language note: most gynecologists in Curaçao trained in the Netherlands and are fluent in Dutch and English; Papiamentu is also widely used in patient-facing materials.
Street, Night and Taxi Safety
Walking Alone After Dark
Curaçao is widely described as safe to explore during the day, but multiple sources specifically flag Willemstad as an area to be more cautious in after dark, with other sources naming Otrobanda's harbor area and the Sint Michiel neighborhood as places not to walk alone at night. The general advice given is to avoid poorly lit or deserted streets and stick to main roads and areas where other people are present. Jan Thiel and the Pietermaai district in Willemstad are called out as the nightlife areas that are considered fine to be out in after dark.
Solo Female Travelers Specifically
Sources describe Curaçao as a popular and generally safe destination for women traveling alone, with one long-term visitor noting his wife explored large parts of the island by herself without issue. The recurring caveat is to stick to tourist areas during the day and to avoid going out solo at night, instead exploring with a companion or a tour guide after dark.
Petty Theft and Pickpocketing
The most commonly reported risk for visitors, including women, is petty theft and scams rather than violent crime; one safety breakdown rates property crime and petty theft as common while violent crime is rated low. Willemstad in particular is flagged as having a lot of pickpockets, so keeping bags closed and valuables out of sight is recommended, including in parked rental cars near beaches.
Taxis and Getting Around at Night
Curaçao does not have Uber, Bolt, or similar ride-hailing apps, so licensed taxis (marked with a TX plate) are the standard and recommended option, including apps like the government-linked 24/7 Taxi app that let you track the car and driver details. The government introduced fixed, guideline-based fares in 2025 to reduce disputes, so it's worth confirming the price (or checking the fare sheet) before the ride starts, and most drivers expect cash in guilders or US dollars rather than cards.
Abortion Law
- Summary
- Termination of pregnancy (TOP) is fully prohibited under Curaçao's own penal code — Curaçao has autonomous legislation separate from the Netherlands. There is no legal exception even for risk to the woman's life or health, rape, or fetal impairment.
- Legal Status
- illegal
- Tolerance Policy
- Since 1999 the Public Prosecutor's office has applied a documented 'institutionalized tolerance' policy: general practitioners who perform first-trimester TOP on request are not prosecuted, and the Health Inspectorate supervises compliance. This protection covers the treating doctors, not the women themselves, though in practice no woman has been prosecuted for having a TOP since the policy began.
- Abortion Time Limits
- None apply because the procedure is not legally permitted at any weeks of pregnancy. In practice, the tolerated informal channel (see below) is generally used only in the first trimester.
Access Routes
- Informal/tolerated domestic route: a small number of general practitioners in Curaçao are known to perform first-trimester TOP under the tolerance policy; this remains technically a criminal act and is not a regulated clinical service, so quality, aftercare, and pricing are inconsistent and not publicly documented.
- Travel to Bonaire (BES islands): Bonaire became a special municipality of the Netherlands in 2010 and legalized abortion under Dutch law as a result, making it a legal, short-flight option for Curaçao residents.
- Travel to the European Netherlands: abortion is legal and regulated there, and is a route sometimes used by women from Curaçao given the Kingdom of the Netherlands relationship.
- Self-managed/clandestine methods: academic research on Curaçao has documented unsafe self-induced abortion (including a fatal case), underscoring real safety risks of unsupervised methods.
OB-GYN Options In Willemstad
Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) — Obstetrics & Gynecology Department
- Type
- Hospital-affiliated gynecology clinic
- Notes
- Multi-physician OBGYN team covering pregnancy/childbirth care, fibroids, fertility, menopause, gynecologic cancers, and preventive care such as annual exams and Pap testing. Physicians include Dr. Nurah Hammoud, Dr. Igor Gomes Bravio, Dr. Hilda Holtsema, Dr. Vanessa Marcha, Dr. Mianne van Kessel, Dr. Ralph Voigt, Dr. Giovanni Christiaan, and others on staff.
Dr. G.A. Christiaan, Gynaecoloog (Private Practice)
- Type
- Private OBGYN practice
- Notes
- Independent private gynecology practice in Willemstad, separate from the hospital-based CMC team, focused on women's health education and general gynecological care.
- Location Note
- Schout bij Nacht Doormanweg, Willemstad
Gynaecoloog Praktijk Dr. Voigt (Private Practice)
- Type
- Private OBGYN practice
- Notes
- Standalone private gynecology practice run by a gynecologist also affiliated with Curaçao Medical Center.
Meraki Health Care
- Type
- Clinic — contraception & gynecology services
- Notes
- Offers contraception counseling and gynecological services including birth control pills, NuvaRing, and hormone patches, with an emphasis on accessible, private consultations.
Assault Resources And Contraception
Assault Resources
- Emergency Number
- For an immediate threat to safety, dial the general emergency number for police/ambulance in Curaçao (911). Confirm this is still current locally, as we could not re-verify it via an official government source at the time of research.
- Reporting Option
- Reports of sexual or domestic violence can be filed with Korps Politie Curaçao (KPC); Stichting Slachtofferhulp Curaçao can accompany or support a victim through this process if requested.
- Medical Care After Assault
- For immediate medical attention after an assault (injury care, STI risk assessment, evidence preservation), the main referral point on the island is the emergency department of Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) in Willemstad. We could not independently confirm via an official hospital source whether CMC runs a dedicated forensic/'rape kit' protocol, so treat this as the general go-to ER rather than a confirmed specialist unit.
Shelter And Crisis Care
- Name
- Nihaila House
- Services
- Nihaila House biedt verschillende soorten hulp: een actieplan en zorgteam voor vrouwen, ambulante hulp, opvang bij 'code rood' (acuut onveilige) situaties, coaching, psychologische begeleiding en juridische bijstand bij bijvoorbeeld een scheiding.
- Access Note
- Access to the shelter/crisis track ('code rood') is generally arranged through the care team once a woman engages with the organization, rather than as an anonymous walk-in service.
- Description
- A women's shelter/crisis-care organization on Curaçao described by a former board member of the domestic-violence advocacy group Aliansa.
Victim Support Organization
- Name
- Stichting Slachtofferhulp Curaçao (Victim Support Foundation Curaçao)
- Details
- Stichting Slachtofferhulp Curaçao nam vorig jaar in totaal 1.075 zaken in behandeling, waarbij relationeel geweld op de tweede plaats staat met 150 slachtoffers.
- Cooperation
- The foundation coordinates weekly with Korps Politie Curaçao (KPC), the Public Prosecutor's Office (Openbaar Ministerie), and Reclassering on relational-violence cases reported that week.
- Description
- A Curaçao-based non-profit that assists victims of crime, including sexual and relational (domestic) violence.
- Note On Reporting
- Locally reported data indicates a large share of relational-violence victims who reach the foundation choose not to file a formal police report, so support is available whether or not a survivor wants to pursue a police case.
Contraception And Emergency Contraception
- General Access
- As an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Curaçao's healthcare and pharmacy system is modeled on the Dutch/Kingdom framework. Hormonal birth control pills, the IUD, and the contraceptive implant are legal and available through general practitioners, gynecologists, or family-planning clinics on the island; the IUD and implant require insertion/removal by a trained clinician.
- Regulatory Status
- Fully legal and regulated
- Unconfirmed Point
- We could not confirm via an official Curaçao pharmacy-regulation source whether the emergency contraceptive pill is sold over-the-counter without a prescription on the island (as it is in the Netherlands) or whether a doctor's prescription is required in practice — this varies by pharmacy chain in some Caribbean jurisdictions, so a nomad should ask the specific pharmacist directly rather than assume OTC access.
- Emergency Contraception
- Levonorgestrel-based emergency contraceptive pills exist as a recognized method regionally and in the wider Kingdom of the Netherlands, and a copper IUD inserted within days of unprotected sex is also a recognized (though appointment-dependent) emergency option.
- Pricing Note
- We are not including a specific price figure for emergency contraception in Curaçao because we could not verify a current, reliable local price through a pharmacy or health-authority source — presenting an invented number would be less honest than omitting it. Travelers should confirm current pricing directly with a pharmacy (e.g., a central Willemstad pharmacy) or a local clinic/gynecologist.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this women's health & safety research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Curaçao
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.