AFP
"It's not homosexuality that's punishable here, but discrimination," Bussemaker said
The Hague
Dutch officials have launched a new mobile app called "Rainbow Refugees NL" to give lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender migrants instant access to information on their rights, health and safety.
"Refugees often do not know, for example, that in The Netherlands they can file a complaint for discrimination," Culture Minister Jet Bussemaker said in a statement on Monday.
Available for download on iTunes, the app gives information on LGBT refugees' rights, Dutch asylum procedures, where to find aid organisations and answers on health and safety issues.
Ten refugees helped create the app together with Dutch gay rights association COC and the COA, the Dutch government's organisation that receives and handles refugees.
The app is available in English, French, Arabic and Farsi.
The COC has reported that LGBT refugees often suffer harassment and discrimination -- including sexual abuse.
Dutch lawmakers in March voted in favour of separate housing for LGBT refugees after several received death threats, their clothes were burnt and their beds smeared with excrement and rotten food.
The Netherlands was the first-ever country to legalise same-sex marriage.
