Gov't launches study into decreasing LGBTQIA+ acceptance among Dutch youth

State Secretary Mariëlle Paul (emancipation) wants “more insight into possible reasons and solutions” for the declining rates of LGBTQ acceptance in young people. Recent research shows that fewer young people are tolerant of sexual minorities like lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender people, and intersex people.

In consultation with the interest group COC, Paul wants to tackle this development, which emerged in the Youth Health Monitor of the GGD and the RIVM. VVD MP Kente Becker, a fellow party member of Paul, will ask the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, questions regarding the subject.

The monitor showed that less than half of high school students think it is normal for two people of the same gender to be in love. More than a quarter of the students felt this was “wrong” in 2023, when this percentage was only 14 percent in 2021.

Paul called it an incredibly worrying development. “I want to do everything to combat the declining rates of acceptation amongst young people.” What the subsequent research will look like or when the results will be published is unknown. A ministry spokesperson has said that these details still need to be worked out.

The state secretary also called on the municipality of Amsterdam "to take steps based on these results to further stimulate acceptance among young people." The State Secretary emphasizes that a lot is already happening in the capital.