A monument in The Hague in remembrance of the persecution of the international LGBTQ+ community has been covered in anti-gay texts by vandals.

The rainbow benches next to the monument have also been vandalised, the foundation which looks after the memorial said on Tuesday.

“The foundation’s board is extremely concerned about this development, in which a place of remembrance has been covered in hate texts,” the foundation said. The body has made a formal police complaint about the vandalism.

The Hague city council’s anti-discrimination chief Mariëlle Vavier described the graffiti as “unacceptable” and said the monument and benches will be repaired as soon as possible.

Homomonument en regenboogbankjes beklad: ‘Hoop dat deze laffe daders worden opgespoord’ https://t.co/NOJE5BS1Yc

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“It is the worst form of vandalism to stem from a hatred of gay people,” she said. “The monument is a symbol of acceptance and freedom.”

There has been a string of homophobic attacks on property across the Netherlands in recent months. In May, vandals set fire to a rainbow flag outside an LGBTQ+ club in Delft.

In April, a meeting for gay teenagers in Eindhoven was interrupted by a group of around 20 adults who tried to set a rainbow flag on fire, while five staff members were injured in an attack on Dorothy’s drag bar in Groningen at the Easter weekend.