Anti-gay graffiti found on Gay Monument in The Hague

The organization behind a prominent memorial to the LGBTQI+ community said their International Homomonument on the Koekamp in The Hague was covered with drawings and anti-gay slogans. The foundation responsible for the memorial, IHDH, said on Tuesday morning that benches in the colors of the rainbow flag there were also defaced.

The foundation said statements painted at the monument site include “fuck gays” and “weg met pride,” which translates as “down with pride.” The slogans were seen on photos shared by IHDH. The foundation said they were forms of hate speech and discrimination.

“The board of the foundation is very concerned about this development in which memorial sites and other places are being defaced with hateful texts,” the IHDH said. The foundation plans to file a criminal report with the police, as will the municipality of The Hague.

The monument will be repaired as soon as possible, as will the rainbow benches. Rainbow flags are often used as a symbol by people of diverse sexualities and genders.

Mariëlle Vavier, the alderman in The Hague who handles anti-discrimination issues, called the graffiti “unacceptable.” She said, “It is a serious form of vandalism that stems from homophobia.” It is not the first time that the monument has been defaced. This also happened once in September 2021. The sculpture was first unveiled in 1993.

“The Homomonument is a symbol of acceptance and freedom. It is a place where oppressed and persecuted queer people are commemorated. We will never accept hate speech and discrimination,” Vavier stated.

The International Homomonument “serves as a commemoration for all lesbian women, homosexual men, bisexuals, transgenders, queers and intersex people, anywhere in the world, persecuted or oppressed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, in the past and in the present,” the IHDH said on the website for the monument.