Over 1.6 million people experienced discrimination last year

Eleven percent of Netherlands residents aged 15 and older experienced discrimination in 2021, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Ministry of Justice and Security reported based on their safety monitor on Monday. That is 1.6 million people. Less than 10 percent of people who experienced discrimination reported it.

The safety monitor is a survey in which 173,000 Netherlands participate. Especially people with a Surinamese or Dutch-Caribbean background (35 percent) and a Moroccan background (35 percent) indicated that they often experienced discrimination. Among people with a Dutch-only background, less than 1 in 10 experienced discrimination.

Victims most often cited race or skin color (36 percent) and nationality (27 percent) as the grounds for discrimination. Women were more likely to experience discrimination than men. Young people also experienced discrimination more often than older people, and homosexuals and bisexuals more often than heterosexuals. Regarding religion or belief, Muslims experienced discrimination most often (three in ten), followed by Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus (two in ten).

People most often faced unequal treatment (60 percent), discriminatory comments (40 percent), and stigmatization, for example, in the media (over 30 percent).

Almost 1 in 10 victims reported discrimination to one or more authorities last year. Three percent reported it to their employer or education program, 2 percent to the police, and 1 percent to a reporting center for discrimination. Less than 0.5 percent went to the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights.