Homosexual Violence in Amsterdam

The City that seem the most tolerant place in the world to express yourself has now become a place that as a homosexual you need to be a little more cautious. If you haven't already heard read on..

AMSTERDAM – The Amsterdam police are considering sending undercover officers posing as homosexual men onto the streets of the capital in an effort to combat increasing aggression against gays. The chief of Amsterdam police Bernard Welten said this in an interview that appears in the Gay Krant on Friday. "But only as an extreme measure, and only if victims have become much more willing to report incidents than they are now," Welten added.

The number of reports of violence against homosexuals in Amsterdam this year so far is already higher than the number reported for the whole of 2006. 21 incidents of violence against gays have already been reported. Suspects have been arrested in 12 cases. Homosexuals were assaulted in other cities, including Haarlem and The Hague, over the past few weeks as well.

Gay rights organisation COC has raised the alarm several times this year about growing aggression towards homosexuals. Welten stressed in the Gay Krant that the rising number of victims does not necessarily mean that the number of actual incidents taking place has increased. "We are just seeing and hearing about it more than we used to."

Figures from the police show that most violence against homosexuals is committed by young Moroccans, but Welten sees the arrival of East Europeans as a new "challenge." "This group has its own problems." Fundamentalism, in any religion whatsoever, is the most significant cause of intolerance, the police chief said. Geert Wilders' Freedom party PVV urged in early June that undercover officers posing as homosexuals be deployed in the capital to help combat aggression against gay people.