The most beautiful park in the centre of Amsterdam has a colourful mixture of visitors, especially in the summer. Parents with children, inline skaters who display their tricks in front of the film museum, joggers, couples walking hand in hand and ... gay men cruising in the rose garden.

As dusk falls, the Vondelpark has been a regular meeting place for men looking for a short and uncomplicated sexual encounter since time immemorial. Now the Amsterdam police are causing commotion because they want gay men to stop hiding in the bushes and come out into the open.
 
Gay sex in public is nothing new, but no-one wants to know about it. The popular singer George Michael made front-page news when he was arrested after making 'sexual advances' towards a police officer in plain clothes in a Los Angeles public toilet. And if sex in public is just going a step too far, there are always the "pink" neighbourhoods where gays and lesbians meet. Even the Catholic Mexico City has a Zona Rosa, with bars and discos for gays and lesbians. The Mexican police regularly raid them, but mainly because of under-age drinking and prostitution.
 
Out of sight

The Netherlands has dozens of parks and woodlands where homosexuals are "at large" looking for a bit of hanky panky. Amsterdam's Vondelpark is one of the best known locations. Randy men meet in the park's rose garden. Most Dutch people don't care, as long as the condoms are thrown away in the rubbish bin and the sexual activities stay out of the sight of the children in the playground opposite. Up to now, the police would only intervene if gays were found cruising outside the rose garden, but even that did not have priority.
 
However, in the last three years violence against homosexuals has increased. Gay bashing has become a growing problem, especially in Amsterdam. Teachers who are known to be gay are terrorised at schools. Gays and lesbians who walk hand in hand down the street can expect verbal or even physical abuse. In 2007, 20 homosexuals were beaten up so badly that they had to go to hospital.
 
Measures

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