The Homomonument is a memorial in the centre of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It commemorates all gay men and lesbians who have been persecuted because of their sexual orientation. Opened on 5 September 1987, it was the first monument in the world to commemorate gays and lesbians who were killed by the Nazis.
Hedwig "Hedy" d'Ancona is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and political activist.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in the Netherlands rank among the most advanced in the world. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1811 after France invaded the country and installed the Napoleonic Code, erasing any remaining sodomy laws. No more sodomy laws were enacted after the country received independence. An age of consent equal with that of heterosexual activity was put in place in 1971. During the late 20th century, awareness surrounding homosexuality grew and society became more tolerant of gay and bisexual people. The changes eventually led to homosexuality's declassification as a mental illness in 1973 and a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation in the military. The Equal Treatment Act 1994 bans discrimination on account of sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, and other areas. This was extended in 2019 to include discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics. After the country began granting same-sex couples registered partnerships benefits in 1998, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. Same-sex joint and stepchild adoption are also permitted, and lesbian couples can access IVF as well.
COC Nederland, also known as COC Netherlands, is a Dutch LGBTQ+ rights group founded in 1946. COC originally stood for Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum, which was intended as a "cover" name for its real purpose. It is the oldest existing LGBT organization in the world.
Mariëtte "Jet" Bussemaker is a retired Dutch politician. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), she served as Minister of Education, Culture and Science from 5 November 2012 to 26 October 2017 in the Second Rutte cabinet. She has been a professor of Science, Policy, Social Impact and Healthcare at Leiden University since 1 July 2018.
Karin Spaink is a journalist, writer and feminist.
Hafid Bouazza was a Moroccan-Dutch writer.
Mohammed Benzakour is a Moroccan-Dutch columnist, essayist, poet, writer and politician. He is the third child in a family of five. At age three, he and mother and siblings settle in Zwijndrecht, Netherlands, where his father worked. He graduated from high school at vwo level and studied sociology at Leiden University and later political science and moved to Rotterdam to finish his master. Meanwhile, he joined the Labour Party. He started his journalism career working for De Volkskrant and also published in NRC Handelsblad, De Groene Amsterdammer and Vrij Nederland. He received the ASN Media Prize in 1999 and the Silver Zebra in 2001 for insights in a 'society in motion'. He later published two books, Abou Jahjah: Nieuwlichter of Oplichter. De demonisering van een politiek rebel in 2004 and Osama's Grot, Allah, Holland en ik, a compilation of his columns, articles and essays from 2001 until 2005, the year of publication. In that same year he also won the Peace Prize for Journalism. In 2008 his 'Stinkende Heelmeesters' was published, a compilation of essays, reviews, columns and reports from 2001 to 2008.
The history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Netherlands has reflected the shades of tolerance or rigidity which were utilized by the rulers of the country at various periods in its history. Since World War II, the movement for LGBT rights has been galvanized by both events abroad and increasing liberalization domestically.
LGBT writers in the Dutch-language area are writers from de Lage Landen, that is Flanders and the Netherlands,
Bastiaan Johan "Bas" Heijne is a Dutch writer and translator.
IHLIA LGBTI Heritage, formerly known as the International Gay/Lesbian Information Center and Archive, is an international archive and documentation center on homosexuality, bisexuality and transgender.
Maxim Februari, pseudonym of Maximiliaan (Max) Drenth, is a Dutch writer, philosopher and columnist.
Miriam van der Have is an intersex human rights activist and woman with androgen insensitivity syndrome. She is a co-founder and co-chair of OII Europe e.V in 2015, co-founder and managing director of NNID Foundation in the Netherlands and member of the ILGA board where she is Intersex Secretariat until spring 2019. Van der Have is also a documentary film maker and journalist.
Marjan Sax is a Dutch feminist lesbian activist, member of Dolle Mina and co-founder of a number of feminist organisations, ethical bank Mama Cash among them. Sax is also an advisor for charity organisations.
Gerhardus "Gert" Hekma was a Dutch anthropologist and sociologist, known for his research and publications, and public statements about (homo)sexuality. He taught gay and lesbian studies at the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences of the University of Amsterdam from 1984 to 2017.
Annemarie Grewel was a Dutch senator, educator, and columnist. She was an openly lesbian politician. Grewel was usually the chairperson of Labour Party congresses. In 1982, she became a columnist for De Groene Amsterdammer. In 1986, she was elected to the municipal council of Amsterdam. In 1995, she was elected to the Dutch Senate.
Joke Swiebel is a Dutch policy analyst, writer, politician and activist. Since the 1960s, she has been involved with the feminist and LGBT movements. She was one of the coordinators of the first LGBT action in the Netherlands, a protest against a discriminatory law on sexual relations, held in January 1969. She served as first chair of the Federation of Student Working Groups on Homosexuality and on the board of the COC Nederland while a student. After earning her candidate degree in 1972 from the University of Amsterdam, she led the political science library at that institution until 1977. She was involved in the creation of the women's studies program at the university and worked to coordinate between activist groups to ensure that neither gender or sexual orientation were the basis for discriminatory policies.
Lesbian Nation was a Dutch lesbian feminist activist group, operating from 1976 until the mid 80s. The group was instrumental in the establishment of various cultural institutions in the Netherlands.
