Belgium – Reimbursement of vaccination expenses for girls only
On 18 March 2022,1 the Dutch-speaking Labour Court of Brussels ruled that the
reimbursement scheme for HPV vaccination was in breach of the Gender Act and the Anti-Discrimination Act. The decision followed legal action by the parents of a minor boy who, with the support of the Federal Gender Institute, denounced the fact that, unlike girls of his age, he was not entitled to reimbursement for his HPV vaccination.
Therefore, the judgment declared that the refusal of the defendant (the National
Healthcare Insurance Institute) to meet the cost of the HPV vaccine in favour of boys
constituted prohibited direct discrimination within the meaning of Article 19 of the Gender Act in conjunction with Article 14 of the Anti-Discrimination Act (in the case of homosexual boys).
International and Comparative SOGIESC Law - Professor Andreas R Ziegler 