Pupils want Christian school prosecuted for forcing gay, lesbian students to come out

Two former pupils of the Gomarus School Community in Gorinchem and Zaltbommel have filed a complaint against the Public Prosecution Service’s (OM) decision not to prosecute the school for how it treated lesbian and gay pupils. The LGBTQIA+ interest association COC Nederland, which joined the case as a party, announced this. The pupils filed an Article 12 procedure, in which judges examine the OM’s decision.

The OM said in mid-June that the school had “exceeded the permissible limit.” “The school was an unsafe place for LGBTQIA+ students.” the OM investigation confirmed that in 2016 the school forced a student to come out to their parents. The school also had specific rules on dealing with gay students and teachers. Teachers also had to tell the board if they thought a student or teacher might be homosexual. If, after a meeting with the board, a staff member would “persist in his way of life or intend to do so,” the board would proceed with “a solution of the dilemma,” an internal memo published in December read.

But in May, the education inspectorate concluded that the school is safe for everyone again and that “all the inspectorate’s requirements to improve the situation and guarantee the safety of LGBTQIA+ people have been met.” The OM, therefore, declined to prosecute because the school had changed course and because it knew of no new incidents since 2016.

Interest organization COC immediately called it “ridiculous” that there would be no criminal case. The organization now says that the school has not learned anything from the issue and takes no responsibility. “The Public Prosecution Service leaves these students out in the cold. It is important that prosecution is still carried out and that it is also clear to other schools: what happened at Gomarus is unacceptable,” said a spokesperson for COC Nederland.