Trial over USC ‘chick list’ adjourned

According to a court spokesperson, the complainant’s family member told her employer about the family connection last Monday afternoon. Out of respect for the employee’s privacy, the spokesperson cannot comment on the family member's role or the nature of the family connection.

Four USC members are being prosecuted, and the hearing was scheduled for Monday, 14 September. Not only has it been postponed, but the case is also moving to the Gelderland court. The new date has not yet been set.

Lawyer Ina Brouwer, who is representing the victims in this case, told RTV Utrecht that her clients are shocked. “This is a major setback. After months of preparation, the women were hoping that justice would finally be served in this painful case.”

Sexist list
The lawsuit concerns the so-called "list of girls to bang" that USC members made and distributed in 2023. The document listed 28 first-year Utrecht University students, all members of the UVSV sorority, accompanied by crude, sexist remarks about their appearance and sexual performance. The list circulated within the fraternity in 2023 and was also shared more broadly through WhatsApp groups and other social media in March 2024.

This incident had a major impact on the lives of the young women involved. They were bombarded with dozens of messages and phone calls from strange men, which caused considerable psychological distress. Lawyer Ina Brouwer stated to AD that the victims suffered from panic attacks. Some of them no longer dared to attend lectures.

Charges and proceedings
The four men due to appear in court are accused of distributing a document containing offensive content. The OM also ruled that compiling the list is not a criminal offence.

Initially, six suspects were identified, but an investigation by the Public Prosecution Service later revealed that two of them were not responsible for disseminating the list. Their cases have since been dropped.

A court spokesperson said that, in terms of substance or procedure, nothing will change in the trial now that the date and place have been changed. The case is set to begin with the consideration of a notice of objection, in which the defence objects to the trial. The nature of the objections has not been divulged. The hearing will occur behind closed doors.

If the objection is dismissed, a substantive and public hearing will begin. Two days were originally set aside for the trial: Monday, 14 September, and Tuesday, 15 September, with a possible extension into Wednesday morning, 16 September.

USC sanctions
After the incident, USC suspended an undisclosed number of members for up to 1.5 years. In addition, Utrecht University (UU) and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (HU) stopped funding the fraternity. As a result, USC representatives were not invited to official events, and the educational institutions demanded a public apology.

In May 2024, USC announced an improvement plan to change the fraternity's internal culture, after which UU and HU gradually lifted the sanctions over 2025. Since the 2025–2026 academic year, UU and HU have paid a grant to USC and USC representatives are welcome to attend official events at both educational institutions.

As for UVSV, the sorority launched a campaign called "Think before you share", which called on students to think more carefully before sharing videos, photos or stickers. They hoped to raise awareness of the impact that sharing documents such as the infamous list can have on fellow students' lives.

Historic court case
This is not the first time that a sexist list makes headlines. In 2016 and 2021, members of the Groningen-based fraternity Vindicat were suspended for doing something similar. However, no police reports were filed at the time, and the Public Prosecution Service did not bring a case.

The Utrecht incident is the first time such a list of names has resulted in a criminal case in the Netherlands. The Public Prosecution Service told the public broadcaster NOS that the decision to bring a case this time had to do with how easily information can be disseminated these days, increasing the impact on those mentioned on the list. Moreover, society has become less tolerant of such sexist behaviour.

No civil lawsuit
The victims have chosen not to bring a civil case. They could have done so to claim damages, for example, but this would result in their names being made public, lawyer Ina Brower explains. Brouwer is representing several victims and their parents. “They are pleased that this criminal case is going ahead, but do not wish to come forward because they're afraid of being singled out and of all the negative attention that would be directed at them.” For this reason, her clients are not expected to show up in court. 

Other offenses
This is far from the first time that USC has come under fire over sexist behaviours. In 2023, pictures of an explicit sexual act at the fraternity's headquarters appeared on social media. Last year, the municipality of Texel decided that USC members were no longer allowed to work as lifeguards on the island after several incidents of sexually inappropriate behaviour came to light.

In 2024, a USC member was sentenced to three years in jail for two rapes. An appeal hearing will take place in Arnhem next week. In 2025, another USC member was sentenced to ten months of incarceration for rape. He has also lodged an appeal.