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hate crime

Effective measures are needed to tackle hate speech against LGBTIQA+ people

 

Secretary General Kerttu Tarjamo.

The charges were brought against Päivi Räsänen’s publications and public statements, which, according to the prosecutor, degrade and discriminate against gays. The prosecutor considered that Räsänen’s opinions violate equality and dignity of gays, and thus limits of freedom of speech and belief.

— It is important that hate speech directed at LGBTIQA+ people is dealt in the courts even when it is displayed in a religious context or is motivated by religion, says Kerttu Tarjamo, Secretary General of the human rights organisation Seta.

The District Court has judged that Päivi Räsänen’s public opinions do not amount to incitement to hatred as defined in the Penal code.

— It is obvious that Räsänen’s public opinions regarding gay people are deeply offensive to many persons belonging to sexual minorities. We hope that the matter will still be dealt with by the highest courts.

Tarjamo points out that the district court’s decision does not mean that freedom of expression or freedom of religion can be freely used to justify discrimination or hate speech. Not all hate speech is punishable under the Penal Code, it can also be harassment within the meaning of the Non-Discrimination Act.

Seta considers it important that the Non-Discrimination Act be reformed, for example, so that harassment can be considered to target not only an individual but also a group of people, and that a harassment case can be referred to the Non-Discrimination and Equality Board without the need to name a victim.

According to Seta, the court proceedings indicate that hate speech against minorities is taken more seriously in Finland than before and that the understanding about the harmfulness of hate speech is progressing. LGBTIQA+ people are one of the groups that face a lot of hate speech in Finland, already in school environments. Yet most of it remains hidden.

According to the European Agency for Fundamental Rights, nine out of ten people do not report harassment of sexual orientation or gender. Underreporting of both discrimination and hate crimes is common and the reasons are, among other things, that reporting is not believed to lead to anything.

Seta emphasises that leading politicians and parties also have a special responsibility for tackling hate speech – the minimum requirement would be to at least refrain from making hateful and degrading comments in public. Räsänen’s opinions are likely to reinforce prejudice against LGBTIQA+ people and legitimise discrimination against them.

— It is a high time that a generation of LGBTIQA+ kids could grow up in Finland without being exposed to the hurtful opinions about LGBTIQA+ people made by leading politicians.

More Information:

Kerttu Tarjamo
p. +358 50 309 8108
kerttu.tarjamo@seta.fi

Kerttu Tarjamo press picture

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

Finland should abolish infertility requirement of trans persons, says CoE Human Rights Commissioner

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, published today a report on the human rights situation of Finland, based on a country visit in June. The human rights organization Seta – LGBTI Rights in Finland welcomes Muiznieks´ views.

The Commissioner urges Finland to abolish infertility and non-marriage as requirements for gender reassignment. He also demands that the specific protection needs of intersex persons, including intersex children, should be identified and addressed in cooperation with civil society organisations. These are requirements that have been strongly put forward by Seta and a wide range of other civil society organisations, but they were left out of the government´s National Plan of Action for human rights in early 2012.

According to the Commissioner, the reform of equal treatment legislation should address the current gaps concerning the grounds of sexual orientation, and special focus should be on the mandate and expertise of an independent monitoring mechanism, such as an ombudsman, within employment. The authorities should give particular attention to improving the protection afforded to trans people and intersex persons.

The Commissioner welcomes the explicit prohibition of homophobic hate crime in the Penal Code. He urges the Finnish authorities to extend the prohibition also to hate crime with specific reference to gender identity.

In the report it is stated that the government should assess whether the recently founded inter-ministerial network of contact persons for human rights can provide sufficient coordination for LGBTI-related issues, or whether a particular ministry should be entrusted with the task specifically.

Seta finds the Commissioner´s recommendations very important and central to the human rights situation of LGBTI people in Finland. Seta hopes that the authorities take action to implement the recommendation without further delay. For example, a decision has been made already in January in the ministry for social affairs and health to establish a working group for reviewing the law on gender reassignment but the decision has still not been implemented.

Report on Finland by the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks: https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1977837

More information about Seta´s views: Aija Salo, Secretary General, Seta – LGBTI Rights in Finland, email paasihteeri@seta.fi

Jouduitko viharikoksen uhriksi vuonna 2011? Kerro tapauksesta ETY-järjestölle – dl 16.3.

Jouduitko viime vuonna rikoksen kohteeksi seksuaalisen suuntautumisesi, sukupuoli-identiteettisi tai sukupuolen ilmaisusi vuoksi? Tai tiedätkö jonkun muun, joka joutui? Kerro tapauksesta Setalle 16.3.2012 mennessä, niin Seta kertoo sen edelleen ETY-järjestölle.

Were you a victim of a crime last year because of your sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression? Or do you know someone else who was? Please tell Seta about the case at latest on March 16th so we can report it to the OSCE. (in English below)

ETYj (Euroopan turvallisuus- ja yhteistyöjärjestö) julkaisee vuosittain tietoja jäsenmaissa tapahtuneista viharikoksista. Uhrin seksuaaliseen suuntautumiseen, sukupuolen ilmaisuun tai sukupuoli-identiteettiin liittyneet tapaukset ovat yksi tapausryhmä, josta ETYj raportoi. Setan kansainvälinen kattojärjestö ILGA-Eurooppa koostaa ETYjiä varten raportin seksuaali- ja sukupuolivähemmistöjen eri maissa kokemista viharikoksista. Seta toimittaa ILGA-Euroopalle tietoja Suomen osalta.

Näin voit auttaa: jos tiedossasi on Suomessa kalenterivuoden 2011 aikana tapahtunut seksuaaliseen suuntautumiseen, sukupuoli-identiteettiin tai sukupuolen ilmaisuun kohdistunut viharikos, ilmoita siitä Setan pääsihteerille sähköpostitse os. paasihteeri[at]seta.fi viimeistään perjantaina 16.3. Laita mukaan vastaukset allaoleviin kysymyksiin niiltä osin kuin pystyt. Laita mukaan myös omat yhteystietosi. Itse tapausselostukseen ei kuitenkaan tarvitse laittaa henkilöiden nimiä. Setan työtä helpottaa, jos voit lähettää viestisi englanninkielisenä (koska tekstit on joka tapauksessa käännettävä ILGA-Eurooppaa ja ETYjiä varten), mutta voit kirjoittaa myös suomeksi tai ruotsiksi.

Setalle ilmoitetut tapaukset raportoidaan Setan harkinnan mukaan edelleen ILGA-Euroopalle ja ETY-järjestölle, ja ne saattavat päätyä ETYjin viralliseen viharikosraporttiin, joka julkaistaan syksyllä.

Kun kerrot meille tapauksesta, vastaa näihin kysymyksiin:

– Mitä tapahtui (lyhyt kuvaus)

– Päivämäärä, kellonaika ja paikka

– Tiedon lähde (esim. uhri, poliisi, järjestö, media tms)

– Uhri(t) (lukumäärä, ikä, sukupuoli, seksuaalinen suuntautuminen/sukupuoli- identiteetti/sukupuolen ilmaisu, jos relevanttia tapauksessa, muut relevantit tiedot)

– Rikostyyppi (esim. kiihottaminen kansanryhmää vastaan, tuhotyö, pahoinpitely, laiton uhkaus)

– Tekijä(t) (lukumäärä, ikä, sukupuoli, muut relevantit tiedot)

– Mistä vihamotiivi ilmenee

– Tapauksen oikeusstatus (onko ilmoitettu poliisille, onko käynnistetty tutkinta, onko nostettu syytettä, onko käsitelty oikeudessa, onko annettu tuomio, onko valitettu)

– Paikallisten viranomaisten reaktio

– Vaikutukset uhriin/uhreihin ja seksuaali- ja sukupuolivähemmistöihin kuuluviin ihmisiin

– Onko tapauksesta julkisia dokumentteja (kuten oikeuskäsittelyn dokumentteja tai media-artikkeleita)

Suuri kiitos avustasi!

IN ENGLISH:

OSCE gathers documentation about hate crimes in 2011 – DL March 16th

Were you a victim of a crime last year because of your sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression? Or do you know someone else who was? Tell Seta about the case at latest on Friday March 16th!

OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) publishes annually a report on hate crimes and hate-based incidents within OSCE participating states. Cases linked with the sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression of the victim are one category of incidents that OSCE reports on. Seta’s European umbrella organisation ILGA-Europe gathers a report for OSCE on hate crimes experienced by LGBT people in different countries. Seta reports information to ILGA-Europe concerning Finland.

You can help us like this: if you know a hate crime that took place in 2011 (the calendar year) and was related to sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, please email the secretary general of Seta about it to paasihteeri[at]seta.fi at latest by March 16th by answering the questions below. Please include your contact information. The incident report does not need to include names of persons, though. It makes our work easier if you can write in English (as the texts will have to be translated for ILGA-Europe and OSCE in any case), but you can write also in Finnish or in Swedish.

Cases reported to Seta will be reported to ILGA-Europe and OSCE based on Seta’s evaluation of the information, and they may end up to OSCE’s official report on hate crimes which will be published in the Autumn.

When reporting a case to us, please answer the following questions:

– What happened (brief description)

– Date, time and location of the incident

– Source of information (for example the victim, police, organisation, media, please specify)

– Victim(s) involved (number, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, other relevant information)

– Type of the crime(s) (for example assault, damage, illegal threat)

– Perpetrator(s) (number, age, sex, other relevant information)

– Brief description of incident with bias indicators (= what makes it a hate crime)

– Status of the case (is it reported to the police, has an investigation been conducted, has someone been charged, etc.)

– Response of local authorities

– Impact on the victim(s) and the LGBT community

– Are there any public documentation (like legal documents or media reports) about the case

Big thanks for your help!