Old Dutch transgender law caused "profound physical, psychological, social harm": study

Transgender flag painted on a hand - Credit: - License: DepositPhotos Health Politics Thursday, 8 October 2026 - 07:35

The old transgender law inflicted “profound physical, psychological, and social harm on transgender and intersex people,” according to a research report by Radboud University commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science (OCW). The old law was in effect between 1985 and 2014.

The old law imposed strict requirements for changing one’s legal gender registration. Among other things, individuals were required to undergo procedures rendering them irreversibly infertile and had to be unmarried, sometimes resulting in forced divorce.

The researchers concluded that the law's physical, psychological, and social consequences were profound. They included a loss of autonomy over one’s body and life, as well as the loss of fertility and future prospects. People underwent major surgeries earlier than intended, or against their wishes, simply to obtain the appropriate documents. “The requirement for mandatory, irreversible infertility, in particular, left deep scars.”

State Secretary Judith Tielen (OCW) said the report offers valuable insights and “helps us learn from what happened back then,” the university reported.

Remke Verdegem, Chair of Transgender Netwerk, called on politicians to “please learn from this terrible, dark chapter in our history.” She said: “People underwent government-imposed, deeply invasive, and medically unnecessary procedures - all because of fear of pure hypothetical abuse. Because the existence of an entire population group did not fit within the narrow-minded worldview of politicians.”

She called for political support for the revised transgender law. It remains “stalled, even though this is the very moment to prove that all your fine words actually mean something.”

A team of historians from the university investigated the experiences of transgender and intersex individuals who suffered harm and distress due to the old law. Their methods included 28 in-depth interviews and examining how the law came about at the time. The report, titled An Inhumane Law, is about the human rights violations for which the State issued an apology in 2021.

Reporting by ANP