What LGBTQ+ rights are at stake in the Netherlands elections?
Once one of the world’s most progressive countries, the Netherlands could soon see a far-right party in government after an unexpected surge in the polls, which campaigners fear could set back transgender rights by decades.
Ahead of the general election on Wednesday, the Freedom Party (PVV), led by known Islam-critic Geert Wilders, is now neck-and-neck with the largest party in the ruling coalition, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
The PVV has made it clear it does not support what it calls “gender policies” or “diversity posturing” in its manifesto. Here’s what you need to know. What is the state of LGBTQIA+ rights in the Netherlands? In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, but progress in protecting the lives of LGBTQIA+ people has since stagnated.
The nation currently ranks 14th out of 49 in Europe for LGBTQIA+ rights, according to the 2023 ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map, marked down for its lack of protection against hate crime and hate speech, and for conducting intersex surgeries.
