LGBTQ students and pupils experience more discrimination: report

More pupils and students in the Netherlands feel discriminated against than five years ago. Especially among young people of the LGBTQ community report more violence, threats, and sexual harassment aimed against them, according to a report 'Experienced discrimination in the Netherlands II' by social planning agency SCP, RTL Nieuws reports.

Students and pupils with a migration background and students and pupils who are part of the LGBTQ community expedience relatively high levels of discrimination in education. Of all pupils and students in the Netherlands, between 2 and 3 percent indicate that they've quit their studies due to discrimination. Among the LGBTQ community, this is much higher at 8 percent.

27 percent of all Dutch people experience discrimination, about the same as five years ago. But there were shifts in "where and who experienced how much discrimination," the SCP said. For example, Netherlands residents experience more discrimination on the grounds of gender and disability. And Dutch-Turks and Dutch-Moroccans reported experiencing less discrimination than in 2013, though they are still the groups with the highest percentages of experienced discrimination.

"It is plausible that social developments played a role in these shifts. For example, #metoo probably not only delineated the boundaries of acceptable interpersonal behavior, but also increased the recognition of violations and reduced the tolerance for violations."

The results of this study, done on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, does not surprise Astrid Oosenbrug of LGBTQ interest organization COC. She calls on the government to tighten the requirements for tackling LGBTQ discrimination in schools, and for this to form a mandatory part in teacher training.