In many countries, homosexuality is normal and no longer taboo, although there are large differences in acceptance in the different countries. The Social Planning Bureau produces a report every other year on social acceptance in the Netherlands compared to other countries in Europe. In the Netherlands, more and more people consider homosexuality normal. It was therefore shocking when Dutch pastors signed the Nashville Declaration in 2019, which is against the lifestyle of LGBT people.
Social Planning Bureau reports on acceptance
- Acceptance of homosexuality
- Homosexuality in the Netherlands
- LGBT acceptance
- Rights
- Paul-de-Leeuw route
- Europe
- Schoolchildren
- Transgenders
- Nashville Statement
Acceptance of homosexuality
Every other year, the Social Planning Bureau receives an assignment from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), Emancipation Directorate, to produce a report on the acceptance of homosexuals in the Netherlands. An annual report is published on social acceptance in the Netherlands over the past year. The Netherlands is compared with other European countries. Trends in acceptance are described and the attitudes of specific population groups, such as young people and migrants, are examined. In the 2013 edition, attention is also paid to the social acceptance of bisexuals and transgender people for the first time.
Homosexuality in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, more and more people consider homosexuality normal. In 2006, 15% of Dutch people had a problem with homosexuality. In 2012, 4% of all Dutch people still had difficulty with homosexuals. In 2017 that is 6%. The Netherlands is therefore a country where homosexuality is more accepted than in many other European countries. For example, the Dutch have no problem with gay marriage in 2012, except for a few problematic cases involving the horror of two men in one bed. Children who come out of the closet are not a problem for parents in the Netherlands and teachers, gay or not, are allowed to be in front of the classroom. What the Netherlands still has to get used to for 22% is two men walking hand in hand or men kissing in public. It must be said that many compatriots also find it inappropriate when a hetero couple is licking themselves in public.
Problems with LGBT
LGBT acceptance
Three years later, LGBT acceptance has declined and the Netherlands is no longer at the top as a tolerant country. Acceptance is now greater in Sweden, Spain and Iceland. It turns out that in 2015, a third of Dutch people had difficulty with two men walking hand in hand. In 2017 that is 29%.
Rights
There is still a lot to be fought for for homosexuals in the Netherlands. Twenty percent of Dutch people believe that homosexuals should not have the same rights as heterosexuals. Not everyone approves of the fact that two men can adopt children and raise them lovingly. Papa Paul de Leeuw does emancipatory work in this context.
Paul-de-Leeuw route
The Netherlands made same-sex adoption legally possible on April 1, 2001. There are not many children available for adoption in the Netherlands. It was not possible for two men or two women to adopt a foreign child. Single-parent adoption was therefore the only way. That route is also called the Paul-de-Leeuw route, after the singer/presenter who openly talked about his adoption method. The parent could only submit a single-parent adoption request after a care period of three years. The other parent could then start a partner adoption procedure. The adoption rules have been expanded as of January 1, 2009. Although the rules have been relaxed in the Netherlands, in countries where the adopted child comes from, adoption by two fathers or two mothers is often unacceptable.
Outliers
In the Netherlands, 6% of the population has a problem with homosexuality. There are large differences in this figure across different population groups. Population groups that have a negative attitude towards gays are:
- Turks;
- Moroccans;
- churchmen;
- PVV voters.
Three quarters of Turkish and Moroccan Dutch people find it unpalatable if their son comes home with a boy. Tolerance is also not great among fellow countrymen who attend church every week. More than a quarter pronounce hell and damnation on their son if he chooses a boy as a partner. One in ten PVV voters is not happy with their daughter doing it with a friend.
Europe
Across Europe, acceptance of homosexuality has increased since 1981. However, in recent years there has been a leveling off in acceptance. Countries that have few problems with gays are:
- Iceland;
- The Netherlands;
- Sweden;
- Norway;
- Belgium;
- Britain;
- Germany;
- France.
disapprove of same-sex relationships include:
- Hungary;
- Estonia
- Slovenia;
- Albania;
- Kosovo;
- Russia;
- Poland.
The difference in acceptance is alarmingly large in the different countries. The acceptance of homosexuals in 2017 is in:
- Netherlands 95%;
- Poland 60%
- Estonia 56%
- Slovenia 52%;
- Russia 16%.
Schoolchildren
There is still some ground to be gained in the Netherlands. Too often, high school students think too much before coming out. Being open about their sexuality does not always provide liberation. Bullying and discrimination are lurking, so young people keep quiet about their orientation.
Transgenders
People who are born in the wrong body and undergo gender reassignment, transgender people, do not have an easy time in the Netherlands either. One in five Dutch people cannot accept this. On the other hand, 57% of the population thinks it is fine if they undergo gender reassignment. Here too, the differences between the population groups in the Netherlands are large.
Punishable
Homosexuality is still a criminal offense in 85 countries. In some countries it can even lead to the death penalty. In 2008, 66 countries called in a UN statement to abolish the criminalization of homosexuality. In 2011, a resolution was tabled to map discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. A resolution is being prepared that regulates the international rights and safety of LGBT people. It must lead to a binding treaty.
Nashville Statement
The Nashville Statement was drawn up in America in 2017. At the beginning of 2019, the Dutch translation became known as the Nashville Declaration. The document describes how Christians should deal with faith, marriage and sex. The writers believe, among other things, that strict morals should apply towards homosexuality, gender neutrality and transgenderism. Homosexual relationships are rejected. That is why critics also call the statement a ‘homophobia manifesto’. The Nashville Declaration receives support and criticism, but it is precisely the support (the manifesto is signed by 250 Dutch preachers and politicians) that makes LGBT people in the Netherlands startle. The LGBT people are in turn supported by many churches, town halls and private individuals who flew the rainbow flag in mid-January 2019.
read more
- Anti-gay propaganda law in Russia
- Bullied but Proud – Facebook page about bullying
- IDAHO – International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia