Safety | Cocktail Online

Safety and emergency services

LGBTI persons should be safe and feel safe in the Netherlands. This means that you should not be bullied or called names by others because of your sexual orientation or gender identity. Violence against LGBTI persons is never allowed. Also discrimination based on your sexuality, gender identity, gender or ethnicity is not allowed. LGBTI persons are protected under the Constitution.

If you are a victim of a hate crime because you are LGBTI, you might be scared to go to the police. To make contacting the police for LGBTI persons easier, The Netherlands has a Roze in Blauw (Pink in Blue) police force. The Pink in Blue police force consist of well-trained policemen and policewomen, who know a lot about LGBTI issues and are often LGBTI themselves. Pink in Blue respects your privacy (as all Dutch police will) and you can count on sympathetic treatment.

Living in a reception centre (COA)

COA supports LGBTI asylum seekers. In every COA-reception location you should feel safe. No one should experience any form of abuse or discrimination. If you experience a situation like this, it is important to reach out to COA immediately. COA’s staff are trained to deal with a wide range of (conflict) situations.