- Abortion legal status
- Illegal
- Emergency number
- 911
Updated July 2026 · Sources cited: mikegravel.org, travelsafe-abroad.com
Good to know
Good to Know
- If you experience a sexual assault in Willemstad, the general emergency number is 911 for police and ambulance response.
- Go to the emergency department of the main public hospital for a medical exam, injury care, STI risk assessment, and emergency contraception access as soon as possible after an assault.
- We could not confirm a dedicated, currently operating 24/7 sexual-assault-specific hotline for Curaçao. The government runs a general victim-assistance hotline, but calls to it are not toll-free and no public number was confirmed.
- Curaçao does have shelters for women who are victims of domestic violence; these have historically also supported female violence victims more broadly when specialized options weren't available.
- For female-method contraception (pill, IUD, implant, emergency contraception), we could not verify current over-the-counter rules or local pricing specific to Willemstad — if you rely on any of these, it's safest to travel with an existing supply/prescription and confirm availability with a local pharmacy or doctor on arrival rather than assuming U.S.- or Europe-style access.
- Abortion is fully illegal in Curaçao with no legal exceptions — nomads/expats who become pregnant and want a termination will generally need to travel abroad (the Netherlands is a common legal option) rather than seek it locally.
- An informal tolerance policy has existed since 1999 that keeps GPs who perform terminations from being prosecuted, but this is not a legal right — women themselves are not legally protected, and the practical safety net this creates for care quality is uneven.
- For routine gynecological care (checkups, prenatal care, contraception counseling), Curaçao Medical Center's OB/GYN department in Willemstad is the main public option and has several internationally trained gynecologists on staff.
- If you need a referral to see a specialist at Curaçao Medical Center, expect to first go through a general practitioner and call ahead to the outpatient clinic to book — walk-ins to specialists aren't typically how the system works.
Street, Night and Taxi Safety
Walking Alone — Day vs. Night
The main tourist districts of Punda and Otrobanda are considered comfortable for walking during the day, with visible police presence and lots of foot traffic. After dark, sources describe central waterfront areas like Punda as relatively safe in the early evening because they are well-lit and busy, but recommend sticking to well-lit main streets and avoiding quieter side streets, with Otrobanda considered slightly riskier the further you get from the main squares and Rif Fort area.
Areas and Situations to Avoid After Dark
Guides advise against wandering into quiet, poorly lit areas at night and flag remote or empty beaches as a particular risk, since walking alone on a beach after dark is specifically discouraged even in otherwise safe areas like Jan Thiel. Isolated streets away from the main tourist circuit are the recurring theme across local safety write-ups, rather than any one named neighborhood being universally unsafe.
Pickpocketing and Petty Theft
Pickpocket risk in Willemstad is rated medium, with crowded areas of Punda and around the historic forts flagged as the places to stay alert, rather than violent crime being the main concern for visitors. Petty theft and car break-ins are described as the more realistic risks than physical assault.
Taxis and Ride-hailing
Uber, Lyft and other app-based ride-hailing services do not operate in Curaçao, so licensed taxis are the standard option; these are regulated and generally considered a safe choice, with fare clarity being the main documented issue for visitors rather than safety. Travelers are advised to confirm an official taxi by checking for the 'TX' marking on the license plate and to agree or confirm the fare before setting off, especially since a fixed, guideline-based pricing system was introduced in 2025 to reduce disputes.
General Precautions for Women Traveling Alone
Solo female travelers are generally considered safe in Curaçao, particularly during the day when sources say there is usually little to worry about in main tourist areas. For nighttime outings, advice is to avoid going out completely alone, to stick to tourist zones such as Pietermaai or Jan Thiel for nightlife, and to use a taxi rather than walking back late from bars or restaurants.
Abortion Law And OB-GYN
Abortion Law
- Summary
- Termination of pregnancy (TOP) is completely prohibited under Curaçao's Penal Code, with no statutory exceptions — not even to save the life or health of the pregnant woman.
- Legal Status
- illegal
- Access Routes
- Because there is no legal domestic pathway, women seeking a legal abortion generally need to travel off-island — most commonly to the Netherlands (where TOP is legal) or another jurisdiction with legal abortion access — since Curaçao's own healthcare system cannot legally provide the procedure. The Dutch Caribbean's BES islands (Bonaire, Saba, St. Eustatius) legalized TOP after becoming Dutch special municipalities in 2010, but Curaçao itself has not.
- Abortion Time Limits
- None apply — the law does not permit abortion on any ground, so there is no legal pregnancy window.
- Regional Context
- Curaçao is grouped with Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Suriname as one of the Caribbean jurisdictions with a full legal prohibition on abortion, in contrast to more liberalized regional neighbors like Cuba and Guyana.
- Safety And Risk Notes
- Because abortion sits outside the legal healthcare framework, safety and post-procedure care can be compromised: women may hesitate to seek emergency care for complications out of fear of stigma or repercussions, and clandestine procedures carry higher risk than medically supervised, legal ones. A documented death from a self-induced abortion's complications has occurred on the island historically, underscoring the real safety stakes of unsafe or unsupervised termination attempts.
- Tolerance Policy Context
- Since 1999 the Public Prosecutor's Office has maintained an informal 'institutionalized tolerance' policy under which general practitioners who perform first-trimester TOP are not prosecuted, though the practice remains a criminal act on the books and women themselves have no legal protection (they simply have not been prosecuted to date).
OB-GYN Options
Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) – Obstetrics & Gynecology Department
- Phone
- +5999 745-0000 / +5999 650-4500
- Type
- Public hospital, OB/GYN outpatient clinic
- Location
- J.H.J. Hamelbergweg, Willemstad
- Services
- Annual gynecological exams, Pap testing, family planning and birth control counseling, prenatal care and high-risk pregnancy supervision, prenatal screening, fertility and reproductive endocrinology, and gynecologic surgery.
- Access Note
- A referral letter from a general practitioner is typically required to book a first outpatient appointment, and the relevant outpatient clinic must be contacted by phone to schedule.
Named Specialists
- Dr. Hilda Holtsema — Gynecologist, trained at University of Groningen and Radboud Nijmegen Medical Center; specializes in obstetrics, high-risk pregnancy and prenatal screening.
- Dr. Vanessa Marcha — Gynecologist trained at Ghent University, Belgium; focuses on adolescent gynecology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
- Dr. Nurah Hammoud, MD PhD — Gynecologist trained in the Netherlands (St. Antonius Ziekenhuis Utrecht, OLVG Amsterdam, Noord-West Ziekenhuisgroep Alkmaar); interest in minimally invasive techniques and benign gynecology.
- Dr. Igor Gomes Bravio — General Physician (Universidad de Ciencias Médicas, Costa Rica) with specialization in Gynecology and Obstetrics.
Assault Resources And Contraception
Emergency Contacts
- General Emergency Number
- 911
- Description
- The general emergency number for police, ambulance, and fire response in Curaçao.
Contraception Access
- Regulatory Status
- Fully legal and regulated
IUD
- Status
- Legal; insertion requires a doctor/clinic visit.
- Note
- No Curaçao-specific source on cost, wait times, or which clinics in Willemstad perform IUD insertion was found via search.
Implant
- Status
- Legal; requires a doctor/clinic visit for insertion.
- Note
- No Curaçao-specific source on local availability or cost was found via search.
Emergency Contraception
- Status
- Legal method exists in-country in principle, as Curaçao's healthcare system follows a broadly Dutch-influenced model.
- Note
- We could not confirm via a Curaçao-specific or government source whether emergency contraception pills are sold over-the-counter without a prescription in Willemstad pharmacies, nor find verified local pricing. Do not treat over-the-counter availability as guaranteed — confirm with a local pharmacist directly.
Pill Oral Contraceptive
- Status
- Legal, available by prescription/pharmacy in Curaçao's healthcare system.
- Note
- Local over-the-counter rules and current pricing for Curaçao specifically were not confirmed via search at the time of research; bring an existing prescription or pill pack if you rely on this method, and confirm availability with a local pharmacy (apotek) or doctor on arrival.
Medical Care After Assault
- Guidance
- Go to the emergency department of the public hospital in Willemstad for a medical exam, treatment, STI risk assessment, and access to emergency contraception after any sexual assault. Local police (911) can also connect victims to forensic medical exam procedures.
- Note
- We did not independently verify via search whether the public hospital has a specific, named forensic/sexual-assault-nurse-examiner (SANE) program; general emergency care access is assumed based on it being the main public hospital, but this specific detail was not confirmed at the time of research.
Government Victim Assistance
- Detail
- The government's victim assistance hotline is described as operational but not toll-free.
- Note
- No specific public phone number for this hotline, and no dedicated adult sexual-assault-specific crisis line, could be confirmed via search for Willemstad/Curaçao.
- Description
- Curaçao's government operates a victim assistance hotline run by the UOJZ (part of the justice sector), intended for crime and trafficking victims among others.
Shelter Availability For Women
- Detail
- Historically, the government did not operate any specialized shelters for trafficking victims, but had capacity to host female trafficking victims in shelters for women victims of domestic violence.
- Note
- No specific shelter name, address, or direct-dial contact number could be confirmed via search — proximity/naming rules mean we are not listing an unverified venue.
- Description
- Curaçao has shelters for women who are victims of domestic violence, and government reporting notes these shelters have also been used to house female victims of violence more broadly when no specialized shelter existed.
Dedicated Sexual Assault NGO Hotline
- Confirmed
- No
- Note
- We could not confirm, at the time of research, the existence of a currently operating, dedicated 24/7 NGO sexual-assault hotline specific to Curaçao (distinct from the general government victim-assistance line and child-abuse helplines). If one exists, it was not surfaced in available sourcing.
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 Willemstad
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.