LGBTI people are increasingly victims of violence: verbally abused, spat on, bullied and beaten

From July 26th to August 3rd, Amsterdam will be celebrating Pride Week. The goal: "to celebrate and promote diversity, equality, inclusion, and solidarity within the LGBTQ+ community and beyond." But according to the community itself, that goal seems further away than before.

Compared to two years ago, acceptance has actually declined. While in 2023, half of LGBTQ+ people (49 percent) thought LGBTQ+ acceptance in the Netherlands was good, that figure is now only a third (36 percent). A significant decline in two years. "Apparently, open discrimination has become acceptable again," sighs one panel member.

The LGBTQ+ community offers various explanations for this declining acceptance. Some believe it's due to the "coarsening" of society, which they believe is a product of the United States. This, they argue, is leading to a decline in tolerance: "Things were going in the right direction, but with Trump in power, we're going back in time."

According to Margriet van Heesch, a cultural scientist at the University of Amsterdam, declining acceptance is also attributable to domestic politics. "There's a movement underway, in the US but also in Europe, that wants to return to the 'core value of the heterosexual family.' Parties like the FvD and PVV, and religiously based parties like the Christian Union and the Reformed Political Party (SGP), promote conservative values in the Netherlands," she explains.

Queers don't fit in there. Trans people, in particular, have a hard time with it: they're the canary in the coal mine, in that respect. In this anti-gender movement, it's pretended that this small group, barely 1 percent, causes a lot of problems, while that's not the case. As a result, acceptance decreases: people think this group is much larger and causes a lot of problems for which they are not responsible at all.

In daily life, many LGBTQ+ people face declining acceptance. Three-quarters (73 percent) feel unable to be themselves because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Two in three (64 percent) also indicate that there are places or situations where they don't feel safe because of who they are. This is primarily on the street, abroad, or in nightlife settings. "I wouldn't be so quick to kiss my husband in the street or hold hands," said one LGBTQ+ panel member.

This fear of walking hand in hand with your partner on the street seems justified. The number of LGBTQ+ people in the study who have experienced mental or physical violence has increased significantly: from 48 percent in 2023 to 60 percent now.

Many of them report being verbally abused on the street because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. One panelist explains: "I think every gay person has been catcalled or insulted on the street at some point. It's not right, but it just seems to be part of life..."

This doesn't just happen on the street; a large group of LGBTQ+ people also face unpleasant comments online: "People find it easier to tear you down online anyway. I think it feels less bad for them when they do something like that."

Compared to 2023, LGBTQ+ people also experienced more harassment at work or in their education. For example, one panel member reported being "outed" by a colleague: the colleague told others that the panel member was LGBTQ+, even though the panel member didn't want to. Another participant regularly receives unpleasant remarks, such as "gross faggot," from colleagues.

In addition to these forms of mental violence, a growing segment of the community has become victims of physical violence. Compared to two years ago, this percentage has even doubled. "I've been verbally abused, spat in the face, and beaten up."

And these forms of mental and physical violence have an impact on LGBTQ+ people. They feel they have to adapt to avoid becoming victims (again).

Drag queen Lars returned from a Pride party last week and found two bullet holes in his window:

The way people adapt varies. For example, there's a group that's more cautious about expressing their sexual orientation or gender identity: "Everywhere you have to hide your true nature because it's not accepted by society."

There are also LGBTQ+ people who no longer dare to walk hand in hand with their partner in public or are more cautious. Furthermore, some simply avoid certain places or situations out of fear, such as public transportation or nightlife.

Strikingly, panel members who are not LGBTQ+ have a completely different view of the current state of LGBTQ+ acceptance. They are more likely than two years ago to believe that acceptance in the Netherlands is good.

However, some (31 percent) feel that events like Pride, organized to promote acceptance, have a negative rather than a positive effect. For this group, events like Pride are "too extreme," which they believe can be "stigmatizing." "Just act normal. If you behave normally, you'll be more accepted," said one participant in the study.

Even some members of the LGBTQ+ community agree. While three in ten LGBTQ+ people (28 percent) feel that events like Pride contribute to greater acceptance, two in ten (18 percent) think the opposite.

They attribute the declining acceptance of the community (partly) to the community itself: "All that exaggerated fuss reinforces stereotypes, which is why acceptance is actually plummeting these days."

The survey was conducted from July 28th to 31st among over 22,000 members of the RTL Nieuwspanel, of whom over 1,500 belong to the LGBTQ+ community. The survey is representative after weighting for five variables: age, gender, education, employment, and political preference (voting behavior in the 2023 House of Representatives elections). The RTL Nieuwspanel has over 59,000 members.

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