Good news from Scandinavia: Norway bans hate speech against transgender people and Finland wants to reform its controversial Trans Law, at last.

Norwegian parliament tightens anti-discrimination law

The Norwegian Parliament, Storting has expanded and considerably tightened the anti-discrimination law of 1981, which prohibits unequal treatment of persons based on their homosexual orientation.

Stortinget, Norway

In the new legislation, the term “homosexual orientation” was replaced by “sexual orientation”. On the other hand, the prohibition of discrimination based on “gender identity or gender expression” is now included in the law.

Although the majority of Norwegian society is liberal and open to the queer community, hate crimes with a homophobic background have also increased in Norway, according to ILGA-Europe. In 2018, 238 cases were documented, an increase of 20 percent compared to 2017. HERE you can find IGLA-Europe’s detailed assessment of the situation in Norway.

Since 2016 transsexuals can legally change their sex in Norway without medical diagnosis. But when it comes to “discrimination, harassment and violence”, trans* persons are “an exposed group”, said Monica Mæland, Minister of Justice and Public Security, who supports the law.

Birna Rorslett from the Association of Transgender People in Norway is also very relieved. The lack of legal protection has been a thorn in the organisation’s side for many years. Now

“it is essential that the protection against discrimination provided by criminal law be adapted to the practical situations that arise”.

People found guilty of hate speech are liable to a fine or imprisonment of up to one year for statements made in private and up to three years for public comments. The law thus takes into account the fact that most cases of hate speech occur online.

Finland plans reform of the controversial Trans Act

In Finland, in turn, Prime Minister Sanna Marin is planning a long overdue reform of the inhuman Trans Laws. Activists have been pushing for years, as the controversial Trans Law requires trans people to undergo lengthy mental health examinations and even forced sterilisation before they can receive legal recognition of their sex.

A 2016 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documents the inhuman and discriminatory treatment of trans and intersexuals in Finland. In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that it is a violation of human rights that people must be sterilised in order for their sex to be legally recognised.

However, the Finnish government decided not to implement its recommendations. In 2017, a draft bill to reform the law failed due to a lack of support from the parliamentarians. Only eight of the 17 committee members had supported the bill to amend the Trans Act.

Antti Rinne, Finland’s last prime minister, had already planned to abolish the sterilisation requirement and ban operations on intersexual infants, but had to resign before he could put the plan into practice.

Sanna Marin now wants to make up for this. A new bill to reform the law will be presented to parliament next year. For the first time all five parties of the coalition are in favor of a reform.

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