Queen Máxima visits the Pink in Blue Police Network
Queen Máxima visited Roze in Blauw, the police’s LGBTQI+ network, on Tuesday as part of Diversity Day. The visit took place at the Police Academy in Amsterdam.
A number of police officers spoke with the Queen and shared their personal stories with her. For example, they talked about their experiences regarding sexual orientation or gender identity inside and outside of the police.
transition
The Queen spoke to, among others, Nathan, a trans man who started working in the police in 1997 and moved into the workforce in 2018. “It was a difficult time,” he said. “I was discriminated against and, for example, changing rooms were a difficult topic.” According to Nathan, much has already improved in accepting people from the LGBTQI+ community, but much still needs to change. “Yesterday I found my old name in the system. Then I wonder: How could this happen?”
After hearing stories about racism and discrimination, Máxima was curious about when Roze in Blauw’s work would be “completed” for police staff. They then said that they hope the network will be shut down one day, but they are not afraid of that. “I fear not,” the Queen concluded.
LGBTQ+
Pink in Blue is the oldest police network and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Pink in Blue started as an internal liberation movement, but is now a more operationally focused network to stay connected with the LGBTQI+ community. Pink in Blue teams are now located within all police organizational units. Diversity Day is an initiative of SER for Diversity in Business. The police are one of 206 organizations taking part in this.
You can watch a comprehensive report on Queen Máxima’s visit to the Police Academy in Amsterdam on Saturday on Blauw Bloed broadcast at 8:05pm on NPO channel 2.
Amsterdam
Queen Máxima was also in Amsterdam that morning to attend the Future of Finance conference of FMO, the Dutch finance company for developing countries, in Muziekgebouw aan het IJ. There she spoke as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate on Financing for Inclusive Development. The conversation included the impact of climate change and increasing costs of living due to inflation.
After the program, one of the Argentine fans was waiting for the Queen. After delivering the typical Argentinian cakes, the man also took a selfie with Máxima.
Source: National Police Agency
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