"In the Netherlands we think it is very normal to express who you are"
By Lin Taylor
LONDON, April 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Dutch men around the world are holding hands to campaign against homophobic violence, days after a married gay couple was beaten up in the Netherlands for walking together hand-in-hand.
Using the Twitter hashtag #allmenhandinhand, Dutch men from Britain, Cuba and Australia posted photos and videos of themselves on social media holding hands with other men to condemn violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Dutch politicians Alexander Pechtold of the D66 party and colleague Wouter Koolmees were the first public figures to show their support, holding hands outside parliament in The Hague on Monday.
Wij doen mee! Stop geweld tegen homo's. #allemannenhandinhand @barbarabarend pic.twitter.com/zsLY7Z0SqM
— Alexander Pechtold (@APechtold) April 3, 2017
"In the Netherlands we think it is very normal to express who you are," Pechtold told reporters.
Local media said the gay couple were beaten up as they walked through the town of Arnhem early on Sunday.
Media reported that one of the victims lost four teeth and suffered a split lip and that four teenage boys had handed themselves into police over the attack.
(Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Editing by Katie Nguyen. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian issues, conflicts, global land and property rights, modern slavery and human trafficking, women's rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)
Male colleagues from the Dutch Embassy Canberra hold hands in protest against violence towards the #LGBTIQ community #allemannenhandinhand pic.twitter.com/VLViPMPkJA
— Dutch Embassy (@NLinAustralia) April 5, 2017
@AnneMarieSnels pic.twitter.com/a8OHhnbeBe
— Maarten van Vliet (@vanVlietjuh) April 3, 2017
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