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Are you interested in LGBTI rights and making a difference as a member of the board of Seta – LGBTI Rights Finland?

If so, we are welcoming your application via email: leena[at]tarjamo.fi. We would like the applicants to answer the below questions in Finnish when applying via email.

The vice chairman and four board members (3 members and 1 vice member) will be elected for the next two years in the Representatives’ Assembly on 28. -29.11.2015. Members will be selected by the Representatives from the nominees proposed on the spot. However, pre-entrance is recommended – that way you will get your application among the official Representatives’ Assembly documents sent to the member organizations prior to the Assembly.

In order to enable a democratic decision-making and transparency, it is very important that there will be more nominees than available positions. It is also crucial to have board members who represent a variety of genders and have diverse backgrounds and regional points of view. The working language of the board is Finnish, which is why the questions are also in Finnish.

A good board member is committed and has an interest and urge to promote the welfare of sexual and gender minorities. Ideally, the member would be experienced in any area associated with Seta.

Application deadline is October 12, 2015.

Questions:

Mikäli et halua jotain yksityistietoasi kerrottavan esittelymateriaaleissa, kirjoita sen perään salainen.

Nimi:
Ikä:
Paikkakunta:
Sähköpostiosoite:
Puhelinnumero:
Sukupuoli (nainen/mies/muu):

1. a) Oletko jonkin Setan jäsenjärjestön jäsen? Minkä? Mistä vuodesta alkaen?
b) Miksi liityit jäseneksi tai miksi et ole jäsen?

2. Oletko toiminut jonkin Setan jäsenjärjestön aktiivina, hallituksen jäsenenä tms.?

3. a) Mikä on mielestäsi Setan hallituksen jäsenen tehtävä?
b) Jos pyrit varapuheenjohtajaksi: mikä on mielestäsi varapuheenjohtajan tehtävä ja rooli Setassa?

4. Miksi juuri sinä olisit hyvä jäsen Setan hallitukseen?

5. Mitkä ovat mielestäsi Setan tärkeimmät tehtävät nyky-yhteiskunnassa sekä tulevaisuudessa? (mainitse kummastakin korkeintaan viisi asiaa)

6. Mihin järjestöllisiin asioihin haluaisit eniten vaikuttaa Setassa?

7. Miten aiot vaikuttaa näihin asioihin, jos sinut valitaan Setan hallitukseen?

8. Kerro vapaamuotoisesti toiminnastasi hlbti-asioiden parissa ja/tai muussa ihmisoikeustyössä.

9. Setan hallituksessa on hyötyä monenlaisesta osaamisesta. Onko sinulla jotain ominaisuuksia/taitoja/taustaa/kiinnostuksen kohteita tms., joista ajattelisit olevan hyötyä hallituksen jäsenen/varapuheenjohtajan tehtävän hoitamisessa ja joista haluaisit mainita?

> Kysymykset .docx-muodossa

A great step for human rights-based legal gender recognition: A ministry expert group in Finland wants to remove infertility requirement and forced divorce, examine self-determination

Amnesty International Finnish Section
The Finnish League for Human Rights
Rainbow Families
Seta – LGBTI Rights in Finland
Trasek

Press release on April 6, 2015

A great step for human rights-based legal gender recognition: A ministry expert group in Finland wants to remove infertility requirement and forced divorce, examine self-determination

The final report of a Ministry for Social Affairs and Health expert group on legal gender recognition was released today. The group has reviewed the terms of legal gender recognition and suggests that the infertility requirement and converting one’s marriage to registered partnership be removed. The group also suggests a change of the outdated name of the current law. The experts further suggest that an option of basing legal gender recognition on self-determination in the form of a simple declaration of one’s own to the registry office should be explored. The group states that it may be well-founded also to review the current age limit of 18 years and to regulate the legal parenthood of persons who have undergone legal gender recognition.

Human rights organisations rejoice at the suggestions of the long-awaited report. Amnesty International Finnish Section, The Finnish League for Human Rights, Rainbow Families, Seta and Trasek say that the report marks a significant step towards improving the rights of people who wish to have their legal gender changed. The organisations have been campaigning together for several years to change the terms of legal gender recognition. They now expect the suggestions of the expert group to be included in the agenda of the recently initiated negotiations on a new government coalition. Finland had parliamentary elections on April 19.

The NGOs point out that a comprehensive reform of legal gender recognition can be prepared in the context of finalizing the marriage equality reform as there will inevitably be changes to the single status/forced divorce requirement. The parliament adopted a citizen’s initiative on marriage equality in December 2014 but the change will only take effect in March 2017 due to remaining legal considerations.

Recent international development shows a growing tendency to support self-determination. The most recent development includes Malta which adopted the GIGESC (gender identity, gender expression and sec characteristics) law in April while a government expert group in Norway suggested that self-determination should be implemented in Norway and the age limit of 18 years should be abolished.

The Finnish NGOs point out that the suggestions of the expert group are also in line with the historical resolution on discrimination against transgender persons adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on April. PACE calls on the member states to develop quick, transparent and accessible procedures, based on self-determination, for changing the name and registered sex of transgender people on birth certificates, identity cards, passports, educational certificates and other similar documents; make these procedures available for all people who seek it, irrespective of age, medical status, financial situation or detentions; abolish sterilisation and other compulsory medical treatment, including a mental health diagnosis, as a necessary legal requirement to recognise a person’s gender identity in laws regulating the procedure for changing a name and registered gender; as well as to remove any restrictions on the right of transgender people to remain in an existing marriage upon recognition of their gender.

The representatives of Seta and Trasek were part of the Ministry for Social Affairs and Health expert group.

 

More information:

Aija Salo, secretary general, Seta – LGBTI Rights in Finland (member of expert group), +358 50 309 8108
Antti Karanki, chair, Trasek (member of expert group), +358 41 546 1565

The final report of the ministry expert group (in Finnish): Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriön translakityöryhmän loppuraportti Sukupuolen oikeudellisen vahvistamisen edellytykset

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calls for self-determination on gender recognition

Yesterday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a comprehensive resolution on trans persons’ human rights.

In a nutshell, the resolution calls upon member states to (from TGEU):

  • Adopt explicitly trans-inclusive anti-discrimination and hate crime legislation and measures,
  • Adopt quick, transparent and accessible legal gender recognition procedures, based on self-determination, without further limitations based on a person’s characteristic (such as age),
  • Abolish sterilization and other medical requirements such as a mental health diagnosis or a divorce requirement in legal gender recognition,
  • Ensure that the best interest of the child in cases concerning children is always given primary consideration,
  • Consider including a third gender option in identity documents for those who seek it,
  • Make trans-specific health care accessible and ensure that trans people (incl. children) are not labelled as mentally ill in national or international classifications,
  • Be pro-active as concerns information, awareness raising and training, particularly for professional groups.

One of Seta’s objectives for the newly elected Parliament of Finland is to renew legislation so that legal gender recognition would be based on self-determination. At the moment, the Finnish legislation demands sterility, medical records, changing marriage into civil partnership, and 18 years age. In April, a working committee of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is going to publish its report that proposes that developing legislation towards self-determination should be considered.

More information:

> TGEU’s Media Statement

> The resolution

> Video of the session

A step forward in fertility treatment equality – Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is trying to get control over public fertility clinics refusing to treat rainbow families

Sateenkaariperheet ry – Rainbow Families
Lapsettomien yhdistys Simpukka ry – The Finnish Infertility Association Simpukka
Seta – LGBTI Rights in Finland
Trasek ry

17.4.2015

A step forward in fertility treatment equality – Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is trying to get control over public fertility clinics refusing to treat rainbow families

Today, the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health published a bulletin that states that the criteria of fertility treatments equally apply to everyone, and no groups of people can be discriminated against when giving fertility treatments. The ministry wants to ensure that health care districts will also treat female couples, single women and trans people, who have so far mainly been denied treatment.

Rainbow Families, Seta, Trasek and The Finnish Infertility Association Simpukka have done sustainable advocacy work for the cause for years. The organizations are happy about the ministry’s definition of policy. The organizations hope, that discrimination in fertility treatments will end without court fights.

“Senior physicians in public fertility clinics have widely opposed giving treatments to rainbow families. Valvira (National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health), the Ombudsman for Equality and the Parliamentary Ombudsman have tried to eliminate this illegal discrimination before. It is great that we finally have an unambiguous definition of policy from the Minister”, says  the Executive Director of Rainbow Families Juha Jämsä.

Because the situation in clinics was not changed by the acts of supervisory authorities, the Minister of Health and Social Services Susanna Huovinen renewed the criteria for access to non-emergency treatment regarding fertility treatment in autumn 2014. The Minister wanted to ensure that rainbow families will get treatment from public clinics without discrimination, including treatments using donor gametes. According to experiences by members of Rainbow Families, the clinics’ policies did not change after renewing the criteria. In December 2014, the Minister send a letter to all the clinics asking them to report on how they will ensure equality in their functions. The clinics’ answers proved that many clinics are going to proceed with their old discriminatory policy even with new instructions.

Today, the ministry’s bulletin clearly states that no groups of people, including female couples, single women, trans people and HIV positive people, can be discriminated against when giving fertility treatments. “It is particularly important that the bulletin also emphasizes that fertility treatments can be given even without actual infertility. According to the instructions, treatments using donor gametes can be justifiable if the couple or person do not have all the necessary gametes. This is a very significant note”, says Jämsä.

The organizations are still worried that discrimination will go on. It is possible, that discrimination of rainbow families will end only after complaints, like it did in Sweden earlier. Discriminatory policies in Finnish clinics have just been reported to the new Non-Discrimination Ombudsman.

Were you a victim of a hate crime? Tell us by April 4th!

We collect data of hate crimes for our advocacy work. Please tell us about a hate crime you, or someone you know have encountered especially in the year 2014. You will help improve the safety and rights of LGBTI people.

OSCE, the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe, has asked NGOs to report hate crime incidents. Seta is also going to use anonymous information of the incidents in its advocacy work. Please send your information by April 13th to Salla Virtanen, tiedottaja[at]seta.fi.

Enclose the following information:

  • What happened?
  • Date, time and location of the incident
  • Source of information (you, your friend, read from a newspaper…)
  • Victim(s) involved (no names, only gender, age and other relevant information: if the incident is homophobic or transphobic, the victims sexual orientation or gender identity might be relevant)
  • Type of the crime (e.g. assault, abuse, vandalism, incitement to racial or ethnic hatred)
  • Perpetrator(s) (no name, only gender, age and other relevant information)
  • Brief description of incident with bias indicators, i.e. why the incident is a hate crime (e.g. the perpetrator yelled homophopic or racist insults, the crime was against a LGBTI organization…)
  • Status of the case, i.e. has the incident been reported to the police and what has happened since (has preliminary investigation been carried out, have charges been filed, is there a court rule)
  • Response of the local authorities
  • Impact on the victim(s) and the community (e.g. LGBTI community or peer group)

> Read more about OSCE hate crime reporting