Netherlands becoming less tolerant on trans, non-binary rights: survey

Netherlands residents have become less tolerant of trans rights. The number of people who are positive about gender reassignment surgery has decreased compared to 2021, and more people have doubts about the statement: “There is something wrong with people who do not feel like men or women.” And a clear majority of Dutch people are against the transgender law, which will make it easier for transgender people to change the gender in their passport.

Netherlands residents also feel less tolerant toward queer and intersex people, but the sentiment toward homosexuality remains mostly unchanged, Trouw reports based on initial results of the National Voter Survey. The survey has been held around the parliamentary elections since 1971.

The number of people who are positive about the statement “If someone has thought carefully about changing their gender, then surgery is a good idea” has fallen by about 10 percent since 2021, dropping from about two-thirds to just over half. In 2023, about half of respondents were positive about non-binary people, a 5 to 10 percent decrease compared to 2021.

The researchers also asked about the introduction of the transgender law. A small majority of voters disagree with the statement, “People should be able to change their passport from the age of 16 without a statement from an expert.” Only about a quarter agreed with the statement. The law was declared controversial after the fall of the Rutte IV Cabinet. Parliament still has to vote on it.

Political scientist Anne Louise Schotel has also noticed an increase in “transgender panic.” The visibility of trans people is often accompanied by resistance, she told Trouw. “And the further away someone is from the norm, i.e., neither a man nor a woman, the more afraid people become. The story of threat fuels that fear. It is remarkable that the self-determination of trans people is under discussion, even in such a survey.”

Freya Terpstra of the Transgender Network Netherlands is worried by the growing intolerance. “The hate messages are increasing,” she told Trouw. “What do people have to say about someone else’s surgery? Doubters do that in silence. But they do support the policy influenced by a loud voice of opposition.”

A study by De Groene Amsterdammer in the autumn of 2023 shows that online anti-trans posts increased by 67 percent in the preceding year.