Disrespectful behaviour

The results presented in this article are based on the Integral Safety Monitor. This is an annual national survey among the Dutch population aged 15 years and older, covering themes such as quality of life, safety, crime victim rates, opinions on how the police function, etc. Since 2008 the questionnaire for the Monitor includes questions on ‘disrespectful behaviour’, namely:

Disrespectful behaviour is behaviour that does not comply with the standards of common decency. Have the following persons or institutions ever behaved disrespectfully towards you personally?

  1. strangers on the street.
  2. strangers in public transport.
  3. employees of shops or companies.
  4. employees of government institutions.
  5. family or friends.

The answer categories are: ‘often’, ‘sometimes’, ‘rarely’, ‘never’, ‘don’t know’, ‘not applicable’. For the percentages in this article, the categories ‘often’ and ‘sometimes’ were added together.

The Integral Safety Monitor has an alternating sample size, with larger samples in uneven years than in even years. The questions on disrespectful behaviour were put to just over 25 thousand people in 2008 and 2010, and to nearly 120 thousand people in 2009 and 2011.