Amsterdam student assoc. won't be prosecuted for misogynistic statements

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) won’t prosecute four members of the Amsterdam Student Corps (ASC) or the ASC itself for calling women “cum buckets” and “whores” during a men’s dinner last year. The misogyny did “exceed standards of decency,” but “that does not make it punishable,” the OM said on Wednesday.

A woman pressed charges against the ASC and four members, accusing them of incitement to hatred, discrimination, and violence against women because of speeches made during a “men’s dinner” in July last year.

“The OM tested the four statements against which a report was filed for criminal liability for group insult and incitement to hatred, discrimination, and violence.” In two of these statements, ASC members called women “whores” and “cum buckets.” The other statements were that “men should break women’s necks to stick their dicks in” and that “women are nothing but nothing more than a whore.”

According to the OM, group insult due to gender is not a criminal offense - gender is not mentioned in the article of the law that relates to group insult. “In addition, in the view of the OM, the statements do not legally incite hatred, discrimination, or violence,” the OM said. “The OM has therefore dismissed the charges.”

The OM said it understood that “a number of people felt offended by the remarks” and that “these statements can be regarded as undesirable and unacceptable.” But that does not make it a criminal offense, the OM said.