The number of reports and registrations of discrimination at anti-discrimination facilities and the police increased for the third year in a row in 2021. The National Ombudsman and the Human Rights Board also received more reports and requests. The increase is largely attributable to people who feel excluded by the corona measures. This is evident from the report Discrimination rates in 2021, which is presented to the Lower House today. The report includes all discrimination reports and incidents registered by official bodies.
Anti-discrimination facilities received 6,922 discrimination reports, a quarter more than in 2020. The police registered 6,580 reports and incidents, 7 percent more. The Human Rights Board received 739 requests for an opinion, up 16 percent. In addition, the College received almost twice as many reports and questions about equal treatment. At the National Ombudsman, the number of complaints about discrimination by government agencies doubled to 321. Only MiND and the Children's Ombudsman received fewer reports of discrimination in 2021 than in 2020. The number of reports of Internet discrimination at MiND halved. The Children's Ombudsman registered three fewer complaints related to discrimination and came to a total of ten."
Reports corona measures
The anti-discrimination facilities received many reports in 2021 from people who feel excluded by the corona measures, particularly the corona access ticket and the mouthpiece requirement. These reports largely fall under a non-statutory discrimination ground. They include, for example, people who did not get vaccinated because of a personal belief that does not fall under a legally protected philosophy of life and, as a result, were denied access to their children's swimming lessons. A smaller proportion reported that they cannot wear a mouthpiece for medical reasons and were still refused admission. The Human Rights Board and the National Ombudsman also received many complaints and reports about the corona measures.
Stefano Frans, president of Discriminatie.nl: "A large and diverse group of Dutch people have experienced being excluded or treated unequally because they are unwilling or unable to comply with coronagraphs. Many people reported to anti-discrimination services who are angry and hurt by this. It underscores that everyone can experience discrimination in certain circumstances. It is important to be mindful of that and seek connection."
Origin of most reported land
Discrimination based on origin is most common in the reports and registrations of anti-discrimination facilities (34 percent) and the police (42 percent). However, the number of reports at anti-discrimination facilities did decline compared to the peak during and after Black Lives Matter in 2020, while the number of police registrations increased slightly. At the National Ombudsman (one-third) and the Children's Ombudsman (half) most reports are also about origin. At the College, after disability/chronic illness, origin is the ground to which most requests relate.
Other reports and registrations
In the police, most registrations after origin are about sexual orientation (32 percent). The number of registrations involving anti-Semitism increased, but is still lower than two years ago. The number of registered reports and incidents of disability discrimination also increased, involving people who cannot or will not wear a mouthpiece due to medical reasons. "Discrimination has no place in society. We should all make efforts to eliminate it. That is also an important police task,'' said Peter Holla, portfolio holder for tackling discrimination.
The reports to anti-discrimination facilities continue to be about "non-statutory" grounds of discrimination - which include many reports about corona measures - (31%), disability/chronic illness (15%) and gender (6%). Furthermore, anti-discrimination facilities received several dozen reports about discrimination by the Tax Administration because of the Supplements affair.
Transgender persons
Nearly 1 in 5 gender-based reports to anti-discrimination facilities involve discrimination against transgender individuals. Most of the cases involve hostile treatment, such as not using an explicitly requested form of address. Also in the police, most of the registered reports and incidents on the basis of gender were related to transgender persons, often involving insults, threats and violence.
Most discrimination in area of public services
Most reports to anti-discrimination agencies did not take place in the labor market , as in previous years, but in the area of collective facilities (28%). These include hospitals, municipal services and the Tax Office. This is also due to the sharp increase in reports of corona measures. An increase was also seen in the areas of hospitality ( from 3 to 7 percent of the total) and sports and recreation (from 2 to 5 percent). The labor market did remain the second largest area (16 percent). At the College, 1 out of 3 requests for an opinion related to the field of labor, making it the largest field.
Download the report Discrimination rates in 2021 here.
