On Tuesday 17 May it is the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia and Intersexphobia. In the Netherlands we celebrate the day with a relay of activities throughout the country under the motto 'Being yourself, isn't that what you want?' Many well-known and less well-known Dutch people speak out against LGBTI phobia and in favor of an inclusive society; a society in which sexual orientation and gender expression are allowed to be multicolored.

The activities in the Netherlands reflect the breadth of the movement: various national and regional sports events welcome the rainbow flag this Whitsun weekend, the elderly alliance Roze 50+ organizes various walks and meetings between young and old throughout the country, the first Walk of Love will be held in Utrecht. organized and special IDAHOT vigils take place in Hoorn and Amsterdam. In addition, there is dancing, many schools organize team discussions in the context of the 'pink families welcome at school' campaign and various films are premiered, such as the film Out & About, which will be screened in more than 25 Dutch embassies worldwide during IDAHOT.

Why is an International Day so important? Worldwide, 81 countries have criminalized homosexuality, which means that 40% of the world population, more than 2,8 billion people, is not free in their choice of partner. Millions of gays, lesbians and bisexuals live in constant fear. Homosexuality is punishable by death in 10 countries and in many countries there is no legal recognition of the gender identity of transgender people or forced medical treatment for people with an intersex condition. LGBTI people worldwide face stigma, police brutality, government repression, attacks and violence. Their most basic human rights are being violated on a daily basis. And there is still a lot to gain in the Netherlands; Despite an increasingly positive attitude towards gays and lesbians – more than 9 out of 10 Dutch people believe they have the right to live the way they want to – LGBTs are on average twice as likely to experience violence as heterosexual Dutch people. Bisexuals also experience problems at work up to twice as often as compared to their straight colleagues and the acceptance of transgenders in the Netherlands is significantly less than that of LGBs, according to the recently published SCP report.

IDAHOT has been celebrated worldwide since 2004 and more than 130 countries are now taking part. In the Netherlands, the IDAHOT platform is organizing joint activities for the first time this year. IDAHOT is the day of the year when everyone is invited to be themselves: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, straight or in doubt. IDAHOT Netherlands is an alliance of various LGBTI and mainstream organizations in the field of education, the elderly, sports, philosophy and safety. The alliance is supported by the Emancipation Directorate of the Ministry of Education, Culture & Science.

For more background information and activities, see www.idahot.nl

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