Acceptance of homosexuality among school pupils falls sharply
A Dutch HBSC study finds a particularly steep decline among boys, but does not examine what caused it.
Positive attitudes towards homosexuality among Dutch school pupils fell sharply between 2021 and 2025. Among boys in secondary education, the share with a positive attitude fell from 40 to 22 per cent, according to the new HBSC report.
The study is based on a survey of 1,510 pupils in the final year of primary school and 5,541 pupils in secondary education. Utrecht University and the Trimbos Institute conducted the research as part of the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children programme.
The decline is visible among both boys and girls. Among girls in secondary education, the share with a positive attitude fell from 78 to 51 per cent. Among girls in the final year of primary school, the share fell from 73 to 52 per cent.
The sense of safety and openness at school also deteriorated. The share of secondary-school pupils who believe that gay pupils can be open about their sexual orientation at school fell from 60 to 45 per cent.
The researchers stress that the figures measure attitudes and do not establish a cause. The group of pupils with a migration background was approximately the same size in 2025 as in 2021, while the decline was visible among pupils both with and without a migration background.
The findings mark a break with earlier trends. Until 2021, positive attitudes among boys remained broadly stable and increased among girls. According to HBSC, the new figures for some groups are again around the level recorded in earlier survey years.
The study does not say that social media, political debate, religion or education policy are individually the cause. Such factors could be examined in follow-up research, but this survey cannot support a direct causal conclusion.
Schools do face a practical question: how can they ensure that pupils feel safe and that lessons on sexual diversity are visible not only formally, but also in everyday school culture? The report does not provide a ready-made programme for this.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Measured acceptance of homosexuality fell between 2021 and 2025.
- The study does not establish a direct cause.
- Schools are an important environment in which pupils experience safety and openness.
Left
Arguments Schools should actively combat homophobia, make sexual diversity visible and provide extra support to pupils who feel unsafe.
Values Equality, inclusion and the protection of minorities.
Consequences More training and support require time and money, but can limit exclusion and dropout.
Centre
Arguments The figures call for better school-climate policies, but schools should base measures on evidence rather than assumptions about causes.
Values Safety, proportionality and professional autonomy.
Consequences Targeted monitoring can help, while hastily introduced programmes may have little effect or provoke resistance.
Right
Arguments Schools should tackle discrimination, but be cautious about ideological pressure and leave room for parents, religious beliefs and open debate.
Values Freedom of education, freedom of conscience and equal treatment.
Consequences A broad approach can build support, but insufficiently clear standards may fail to protect pupils adequately.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The main figures were checked against the HBSC publication and an independent second source. The article avoids a causal conclusion that the research cannot support.
- confirmed The study is based on 1,510 primary-school pupils and 5,541 pupils in secondary education. — These figures appear in the HBSC publication. source
- confirmed Among boys in secondary education, the share with a positive attitude fell from 40 to 22 per cent. — HBSC reports this comparison between 2021 and 2025. source
- confirmed Among girls in secondary education, the share fell from 78 to 51 per cent. — This percentage appears in the HBSC results. source
- confirmed The share who considered openness at school possible fell from 60 to 45 per cent. — HBSC explicitly mentions this decline. source
- confirmed The study does not establish a direct cause of the decline. — The publication reports associations and trends, not a causal experiment. source
Editor's note
The percentages and sample are taken directly from HBSC. The study shows a trend, but does not prove which social or educational factors are causing the decline.Sources
- Positive attitudes towards homosexuality fall sharply among adolescents in the Netherlands — HBSC Netherlands
- Dutch teens’ acceptance of homosexuality plummets in 4 years — NL Times
- Dutch youth hold diverse views on LGBTIQ+ — Universiteit van Amsterdam
More on this in Dutch media
- Het Parool — „onderwijs scholieren”
- Trouw — „onderwijs scholieren”
- NRC — „onderwijs scholieren”