Volt and its Amsterdam leader have won a court case brought by a landlord criticised in an Amsterdam council meeting, after he was fined for sex discrimination for renting only to women.
Juliet Broersen, head of the local party, said in a council meeting in January she got “a bit of Andrew Tate vibes” from media reports that landlord Marcel Melis asked prospective female tenants to show him their social media.
Some women told Dutch media that this made them feel uncomfortable but they felt they had little choice, given the competition for rental apartments.
In a meeting in which she raised other tenant issues, she suggested other landlords also made unlawful demands, adding: “Women are definitely the victims more often, when I look at the kind of sexual harassment they sometimes have to deal with in a city with such a severe housing shortage.”
Melis sued her and the small, centre-left party Volt on the basis that they shared clips from the council meeting on social media, claiming he was incorrectly portrayed as a sexual abuser and demanding rectification.
In a ruling on Friday, the case was dismissed and Melis was ordered to pay all costs. The judge said Broersen, as a politician, had broad freedom to shock, offend and disturb – even if she could have chosen her words more carefully.
Broersen, who has highlighted the hate messages she received after the incident, said in a press statement that this kind of court case could have a “chilling effect” on democracy and deter women from entering politics.
