SPN (Stichting Polyamorie Nederland) is a foundation that provides resources and support for people in the practice of, or desire for, intimate relationships with more than one partner, with the knowledge of all partners. The work aims simultaneously to create more social acceptance in society for polyamory and to fight for better laws that don’t discriminate relationships that are different than the monogamous standard. People who identify as polyamorous reject the view that sexual and relational exclusivity are necessary for deep, committed, long-term loving relationships.
The legal and social problems of polyamory are abundant. Socially, people tend to feel closeted and unable to talk about their way of life at work or within their circle of friends or family. Legally, there are numerous issues such as mortgages, inheritance law and caring for children due to our legal system not contemplating relationships of more than two persons. Hence, we try to press for a gradual change of these social and legal gaps.
Recently, there has been a lot of media attention for polyamory within the Netherlands. Isabeau Jensen, the SPN chairperson, has been interviewed by several major Dutch news outlets. Acceptance comes at a slow pace, but we feel that we’ve taken a big step towards making people familiar with and more accepting of polyamory. As a foundation we also speak at meetings of political parties, universities and various social groups. Also, as a form of support for polyamorous people, we organise social meetings and discussion groups where likeminded people can meet and talk about issues they tend to run into. Additionally, we provide information on our website and people can become a member of the Facebook group Polyamorie Nederland. It’s a secret group in order to provide a safe space for people to meet; if you send us an email we’ll add you as a member.
Anyone who wants to support our cause can become a friend of the foundation. If you’re interested, send an email to stichting@polyamorie.nl and we’ll send you information on how to help us financially or with a more hands-on approach. If you want you can even join us for the Utrecht Canal Parade on June 16th 2018, in which we will be taking part together with several other activist groups on the field of consensual non-monogamy!
www.polyamorie.nl
stichting@polyamorie.nl
Isabeau Jensen is a 24-year-old university student residing in Utrecht. Her interest in polyamory stems from her own journey through different forms of relationships. To her, the freedom to deepen connections with different kinds of ‘friends’ (not a huge fan of semantics) is of the utmost importance. By leading the foundation, she is determined to show people that monogamy and how to structure your relationship is a choice in itself and not a given predetermined set of rules.
Raffia 