The Dutch are treating each other with greater respect: survey

Politicians may be bemoaning the decline in Dutch norms and values, but the Dutch are treating each other with greater respect, according to the latest edition of the CBS’s public safety monitor.

In 2008, 25% of people said they were not treated with respect by unknown people on the street, and this this has now dropped to 21%. The behaviour of shop staff, however, has improved the most. Just 14% of shoppers say they are treated rudely by staff, compared with 23% in 2008.

Government workers are also more likely to be polite – just one in ten say they have had problems with disrespectful civil servants.

Youngsters are more often confronted with a lack of respect – Over one in four say they were treated rudely by strangers in 2016, particularly when using public transport. Only one in 10 pensioners had the same problem.

Gay men and women also report more incidences of disrespectful behaviour than straight people. Around a third say they have been on the receiving end of rudeness from strangers, a percentage which has hardly changed since 2012, the CBS said.