Utrecht police investigating slut shaming list describing secondary school students

A criminal investigation has been started into a so-called ‘bangalijst’ that circulated at the Leidsche Rijn College (LRC) in Utrecht. The investigation comes after the secondary school filed a police report on Wednesday.

“It will now be investigated whether crimes like Doxing, libel/slander, and or insult have been perpetrated,” the police reported. The investigation will be focused on the makers and the people who shared the list.

The LRC in Utrecht had filed a police report concerning a 'bangalijst.' A list with photos of the secondary school students was circulating on WhatsApp with "personal data, a negative judgment of their looks, and descriptions of sexually explicit acts." The school management is "very shocked" about the incident. Recently, higher education students in Utrecht were also humiliated by their inclusion on two such lists.

How often the list was shared, who shared it, and with whom is unknown. The LRC does know who made the list. This person will be "punished appropriately." The school has started speaking with all the people on the list, " not just to inform them but mainly to decide with them whether they need additional care to give this nasty incident a place."

In addition to the police report, the LRC reported the incident to The Dutch Data Protection Authority for the abuse of students' personal data.

To prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, the LRC wants to invest "in a safe pedagogical climate in which we can treat each other with respect."

The school added that it would pay attention to the consequences of creating and distributing a bangalijst with students in various ways and at different times in the coming period. They have also called on parents to discuss this with their children.

"It is sad that this phenomenon, which has recently emerged several times in student associations, has now also spread to a secondary school," said Mayor Sharon Dijksma. "It seems like the culprits have followed a very bad example, and I wonder if they realize what a huge impact this has on these girls."

Dijksma thinks it is good that the LRC has reported the incident. "It is not normal to make this kind of list about girls; it should never become normal."