A new staircase in Brabant was painted in the colours of the rainbow last Tuesday, in celebration of National Coming Out day. Unfortunately, it has also been spray-painted in hate speech. 

The staircase in Cuijk, Brabant, was the target of a homophobic attack, in which perpetrators left phrases such as ‘cancer gays’ and even painted a swastika over the rainbow, reports NU.nl. 

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And while you may be thinking: “isn’t the Netherlands very progressive when it comes to gay people?” 

Well, yes, in some ways, but incidents like this prove that homophobia is alive and well and more needs to be done to combat such hostile mindsets.

Coming Out Day 🌈

As Coming Out Day fell on Tuesday 11, October, there were hundreds of events around the Netherlands to celebrate this milestone in many queer people’s lives. 

READ MORE | Even in Amsterdam: homophobes shoot gel gun at people sitting on gay bar’s terrace

But, it seems the day of pride has been overshadowed in Brabant by this incident. 

Volunteers are now forced to paint over the hate speech, instead of being able to enjoy what should have been a happy, colourful installation in the city. 😥

What do you think of this incident? Tell us your thoughts in a comment below!