Finland implemented a bill protecting transgender individuals just before the change of administration. However, significant gaps exist, particularly for children and young people.
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| Transgender rights in Finland |
Finally, on February 2nd, Claude Beier thought to himself. The law that Beier had been fighting on for so long with the human rights group Amnesty International is now being implemented in Finland. Members of the Finnish organization "Trans ry" watched the voting in parliament and celebrated the victory of the light blue, white, and pink flags.
The legislative change was approved by a vote of 113 to 69, and the deputies were liberated of faction pressure. "Trans ry" commented on Instagram, "The result is not only a reason to be happy, but also a great relief." "Seta ry," an LGBT group, even spoke of a "historic moment."
The legislative change makes it simpler for trans, intersex, and non-binary persons to change their legal gender identity. For them, the reform represents a significant portion of their right to self-determination.
"It took a long time, but the law was finally passed," says Beier, a Queeramnesty specialist. "It comes at the right time: A lot will change politically now, which means the chances of passing such a law will shrink." Because the political balance of power in Finland has evolved since the law was established. Prime Minister Sanna Marin was voted out of office this weekend, strengthening conservative and right-wing populist groups. Marin, who hails from a rainbow family, has previously fought for LGBT rights and underlined the significance of a self-determination law.
"It's a good thing the law was introduced before the election; otherwise, it would have taken forever," Beier agrees. Many trans persons, in particular, would have suffered as a result of the requirement to be sterilized. "It is fatal to trans people's trust in the medical system."
In contrast to other Scandinavian nations, such as Sweden or Norway, where changing one's gender is relatively straightforward, sterilization was mandatory in Finland. Trans persons, for example, had to be proved sterile or infertile in order to have their gender entry modified. "Many European countries have long since said goodbye to this," Beier argues. "Until recently, that was a reality in Finland."
Other nations have long since eliminated forced sterilization, owing primarily to European case law. The European Court of Human Rights, for example, found in 2017 that making infertility a requirement for changing gender is a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 8 ensures the right to privacy and respect for family life.
"On this point, Finland has consistently defied European jurisprudence," Beier notes. The United Nations Human Rights Council has also repeatedly urged the government to end coercive sterilization because it breaches human rights.
The anti-trans law contradicts the international image of progressive Finland. However, the 2022 annual report by ILGA-Europe, a European advocacy organisation for LGBTIQ* individuals, demonstrates that trans people continue to face prejudice. It demonstrates that anti-trans remarks have become more prevalent in Finnish public discourse, notably in response to the Olympic Games, which featured a trans athlete for the first time. Physical and verbal attacks on trans individuals have also occurred in major cities like as Helsinki and Tampere.
Conservative concessions
The reason that a law change was ever considered was due to the Sakris Kupila case, which Beier and Amnesty International have been tracking since 2017. Kupila was born with the feminine gender, yet this does not represent his gender identification. Kupila became aware of this as a youngster, and he has been advocating for trans rights ever since. He was even the head of Seta, Finland's largest LGBT group, which has been fighting for gay rights since the 1960s.
Kupila was regularly threatened with violence and had to suspend his studies on several occasions. Nonetheless, he continued to fight for his rights and, in an open letter, he and Amnesty International advocated for legal reform. It has finally been released. The declaration of an adult will be sufficient in the future to modify the gender entry. Psychiatric evaluations or hormone therapy are no longer required.
Beier views the law's greatest strength in the repeal of mandatory sterilization. "That is a significant improvement, as is the omission of psychological reports." However, Beier observes legal loopholes that persist: trans children and young people's rights are not respected at all. "That's probably a concession to conservative forces within your own coalition," Beier believes. Beier finds another issue in Finland's lack of a third gender category. "As a result, the new law only benefits non-binary people to a limited extent."
Furthermore, additional obstacles, such as those in the health-care system, are not taken into consideration in the law change. "Moreover, there is no prohibition on sex-assignment operations on intersex children," Beier adds. "Unfortunately, nothing happened in this regard, despite the fact that the project was part of the ruling parties' coalition agreement." Although the Finnish government committed to prohibit procedures on intersex youngsters by 2022, no action has been made since then. The UN Human Rights Committee also urged Finland to end the activities.
On the one side, there is normalcy; on the other, there is backlash
Beier sees the implementation of the self-determination statute as part of a "wide social movement." In terms of evaluating transsexuality, medicine has evolved. Transgender individuals were officially removed from the list of mental diseases by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018. It was originally classified as a "mental and behavioral disorder" by the World Health Organization.
Many states are likewise pushing trans people into the background as a diseased group, according to Beier. "A normalization path can be seen." Furthermore, being trans has gotten a lot of attention in recent years, but this has polarized the conversation. "On the one hand, it contributes to normalization, but on the other, it causes a backlash."
This pushback may be seen in a number of nations, including the United States, where some states are presently debating retaliation against trans persons. Minors will be barred from receiving sex reassignment therapies in Tennessee, for example. This involves the use of hormones and so-called "puberty blockers."
The position of trans children and young people in Finland is unlikely to improve in the near future. Sanna Marin resigned as prime minister on Thursday, after the Social Democrats dropped to third place behind the conservative National Coalition Party and the right-wing populist party The Finns. The rightward drive is likely to make further LGBTQ political advancement more difficult.
The author Inga Hofmann is an editor in the sports department and at German media Tagesspiegel's Queerspiegel.
Source: This article first appeared in German language on Tagesspiegel.