{"id":36154,"date":"2026-08-05T16:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/36154\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T16:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:37:08","slug":"rob-jetten-announces-e7-5m-annual-fund-for-lgbtq-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/36154\/","title":{"rendered":"Rob Jetten announces \u20ac7.5m annual fund for LGBTQ+ safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rob Jetten<\/a> has announced the Dutch government will spend \u20ac7.5 million (\u00a36.4m) a year over the next three years on improving the safety of LGBTQ+ people.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the opening<\/a> of the WorldPride<\/a> Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam today (5 August), the country\u2019s prime minister said the funding would support initiatives designed to tackle discrimination, improve public safety and counter the spread of anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation.<\/p>\n

Read next<\/p>\n

He used his opening address to warn that progress on LGBTQ+ equality is being reversed in parts of the world, arguing that hate speech is becoming increasingly mainstream.<\/p>\n

What did Rob Jetten say about anti-LGBTQ+ hate?<\/p>\n

According to Jetten, \u201ctoxic, highly organised and well-funded groups hiding behind the fa\u00e7ade of freedom of expression\u201d are helping fuel the shift.<\/p>\n

He also accused major social media platforms of failing to deal with abusive content.<\/p>\n

\u201cHate groups no longer feel restrained,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my view, the rise of online hatred is one of the biggest threats facing LGBTQI+ people today\u2026 Misinformation \u2013 and disinformation \u2013 can be spread in the blink of an eye, with a single mouse-click.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReaching much further than NGOs, youth workers and health organisations can.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is always how hatred takes hold: In the shadows. Outside the spotlight of society. Underestimated by everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside the Netherlands\u2019 new LGBTQ+ safety plan<\/p>\n

Alongside the funding package, Jetten said the government will launch a public information campaign intended to challenge discrimination and online disinformation.<\/p>\n

Part of the investment will be used to expand support for Purple Friday, the annual initiative encouraging schools across the Netherlands to discuss LGBTQI+ inclusion. Organised by LGBTQ+ organisation COC since 2010, the campaign sees pupils and teachers wear purple as a sign of support.<\/p>\n

The event has become increasingly contentious in recent years. Surveys carried out by Dutch broadcasters NOS and RTL in 2024 found that around three-quarters of participating schools had experienced problems linked to Purple Friday, including rainbow flags being burned, posters being vandalised and objections from parents. Some schools have since replaced it with broader \u201cbe yourself\u201d events.<\/p>\n

Jetten\u2019s speech was briefly interrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who repeatedly shouted \u201cwhere is your red line\u201d before one protester called out: \u201cShame on you being at a human rights conference when you\u2019re complicit in genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happened during Jetten\u2019s WorldPride speech?<\/p>\n

As security staff escorted the protesters from the auditorium, the prime minister asked the audience to applaud them and described the situation in Gaza and the West Bank as \u201chorrific\u201d.<\/p>\n

The speech also referenced the attack at Berlin Pride<\/a> on 25 July, in which one person was killed and 29 others were injured. The suspect was later shot dead by police. Jetten said that, in the days afterwards, his \u201cheart was filled with hope\u201d when thousands gathered at Amsterdam\u2019s Homomonument to remember those affected.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s WorldPride takes place as the Netherlands marks 25 years since becoming the first country to legalise same-sex marriage. Four couples married at Amsterdam City Hall just after midnight on 1 April 2001, and more than 36,000 same-sex couples have married in the country since.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rob Jetten has announced the Dutch government will spend \u20ac7.5 million (\u00a36.4m) a year over the next three…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6,1020,216,7829],"class_list":["post-36154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-netherlands","tag-netherlands","tag-rob-jetten","tag-the-netherlands","tag-worldpride"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}