More complaints were made last year to the various Dutch organisations which collect statistics about discrimination, according to a new report compiled on behalf of the police and home affairs ministry.

In particular, there was a 17% increase in complaints made to the police, the report compilers say.

In total, nearly 10,000 complaints were made to the police and other agencies, of which around 42% related to people’s ethnic origins. Discrimination on the grounds of sexual preference was the second most common complaint.

Anti-semitism was involved in around 12% of incidents reported to the police but just 2% of reports made to other authorities.

Almost six in 10 cases reported to the police involved verbal abuse, 12% concerned threatening behaviour and 12% a combination of verbal abuse and violence.

Nashville statement

Three issues stood out and generated a lot of complaints, the compilers said. Last January it emerged that an MP was among 250 Protestants to sign a Dutch version of the Nashville Statement – a controversial document originating in the US which has been slammed for promoting homophobia, transphobia and misogyny.

Hundreds of people reported this to the various hotlines.

Eindhoven University’s decision to open academic jobs to women only  also led to a storm of protest, generating hundreds more complaints. And thirdly, the government’s decision to stop funding AVF for single women and lesbian couples was also a major source of discrimination reports.