Anti-Discrimination Legislation

Q: Is it a criminal offence to discriminate against someone because of their gender identity?

It can be. Gender identity is not listed as a separate ground in the criminal discrimination provisions, but incitement to hatred, discrimination or violence on the grounds of sex is a criminal offence (Article 137d of the Criminal Code), which can encompass discrimination against transgender people. In employment, education and the provision of services, the Equal Treatment Act has expressly prohibited discrimination on the grounds of gender identity since 2019.

Q: Am I allowed to be critical of self-identification or the care model?

Yes. Factual statements about biological sex and critical analysis of legislation or care fall within freedom of expression. The limits are reached when statements turn into group insult or incitement to hatred. The freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 7 of the Constitution and Article 10 of the ECHR remains a key standard.

Q: Can sex-segregated facilities still exist?

Yes. The Equal Treatment Act contains exceptions for situations in which sex is a determining factor, such as women's shelters or certain sports categories. In sex-based facilities, such as women's shelters, prisons, sports and intimate care, differentiation is permitted provided it is proportionate and serves a legitimate aim. The EU also respects Member States' competence to maintain such facilities.

Q: Where can I file a complaint about discrimination?

With the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, an anti-discrimination bureau, the police or through civil proceedings. The Institute issues opinions rather than binding judgments. For criminal offences such as group insult or incitement to hatred, discrimination or violence, the police are the appropriate point of contact. The appropriate route therefore depends on what you want to achieve.

Anti-Discrimination Legislation — Foto: Lajos Kristóf Kántor via Pexels

The Netherlands has an extensive legal framework against discrimination. Transgender people are protected under the Equal Treatment Act, the Criminal Code and Article 1 of the Constitution. At the same time, the combination of gender- and sex-based protections raises legal questions that are rarely addressed in mainstream reporting, particularly where factual statements about biological sex conflict with identity-based claims.

The Equal Treatment Act (AWGB)

The Equal Treatment Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of, among other things, sex. Since a legislative amendment in 2019 (Stb. 2019, 246), 'sex characteristics, gender identity and gender expression' have been explicitly listed as grounds in the Act. This protects transgender people in employment, education and the provision of goods and services, even if they have not changed their legal sex registration.

Criminal Code

Articles 137c through 137g of the Criminal Code prohibit group insult, incitement to hatred and discrimination. 'Gender identity' and 'gender expression' are not listed as separate grounds in these provisions. Article 137c (group insult) refers to race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and disability. Article 137d (incitement to hatred, discrimination or violence) also refers to sex, which can encompass discrimination against transgender people. The ordinary criminal-law framework applies: freedom of expression (Article 7 of the Constitution, Article 10 of the ECHR) remains a key standard. In individual cases, the Public Prosecution Service and the courts seek to balance protection against public debate on gender-related issues. Statements about biological sex, criticism of a legislative proposal or questions about medical care generally fall within freedom of expression. A separate criminal provision is the Criminalisation of Conversion Practices Act, which was passed by the Senate on 16 June 2026; see ban on conversion therapy. How that Act relates to freedom of religion is explained on conversiewet.nl, in the overview of fundamental rights and the conversion practices law.

Article 1 of the Constitution

Since 2023, Article 1 of the Constitution has had a broader scope: discrimination on any ground whatsoever, explicitly including 'sexual orientation' and — according to the explanatory notes — gender identity, is prohibited. Fundamental rights operate primarily vertically (between the state and citizens); for horizontal relationships (between private individuals), the Equal Treatment Act is primarily relied upon.

Enforcement and reporting

Anyone who experiences discrimination can:

File a complaint with the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. The Institute issues opinions, not binding judgments.
Report the matter to a regional anti-discrimination bureau (ADB).
Report criminal discrimination to the police.
Bring civil proceedings before the court.

Limits and exceptions to protection

Anti-discrimination prohibitions are never absolute. The Equal Treatment Act and the European directives provide exceptions for:

Bona fide religious functions where sex or marital status is an essential requirement.
Safety and privacy in sex-based facilities (such as women's shelters, prisons, sports categories and intimate care). Differentiation is permitted here provided it is proportionate and serves a legitimate aim.
Freedom of expression and academic freedom: factual statements about biological sex, scientific debate about models of care and critical analysis of legislation are protected.

In the United Kingdom, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled in 2021 in Forstater v. CGD Europe that 'gender-critical beliefs' (the view that sex is biological and immutable) are a legally protected belief. There is still little case law on this in the Netherlands.

Tension between protection and debate

A complicating factor in current practice is the tendency to label factual statements ('women are adult human females', 'a trans woman is biologically male') as 'transphobic'. Legally, this is far from self-evident; socially, however, it affects public debate. For discrimination law to be applied properly, it is important to preserve the distinction between:

concrete disadvantage suffered by a person on the basis of gender identity (prohibited);
factual or normative statements about biological sex and gender as a policy issue (permitted).

European dimension

EU Directives 2000/78/EC and 2006/54/EC have been interpreted by the Court of Justice as also applying to gender reassignment (P. v. S. and Cornwall County Council, 1996). At the same time, the EU respects Member States' competence to maintain sex-based facilities, as recently confirmed in British case law (For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, 2025). What that ruling means for sex-segregated spaces is explained on vrouwenruimtes.nl, in the explanation of the For Women Scotland ruling.

Is it a criminal offence to discriminate against someone because of their gender identity?

Am I allowed to be critical of self-identification or the care model?

Can sex-segregated facilities still exist?

Where can I file a complaint about discrimination?