20% increase in discrimination cases last year

Last year, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) Handled 20 percent more cases that included discrimination as a charge than in 2020. In 2021, the OM handled 485 discrimination cases, 76 more than the year before, NU.nl reports.

157 of the cases handled last year were about discrimination itself. Three-quarters of these involved group insult. In the other 328 cases, discrimination played a role but was not the main accusation.

Almost half the cases involved discrimination based on ethnicity. Discrimination based on sexual orientation was also common. Most cases were registered in Amsterdam. And in most cases, discrimination happened in public spaces.

The OM only handles forms of discrimination that are punishable by law. The Public Prosecution Service therefore stressed that these figures do not reflect the number of people who experienced discrimination that is not punishable by law, or who did not file a report.