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transgender

14.10.2022

LGBTQIA+ homelessness cannot be solved if we don’t recognise it 

On Monday 17.10 is the international day for the eradication of poverty – on this occasion, the 20th night of the homeless is taking place in Finland. Seta’s international affairs committee interviewed two experts by experience about the meaning of “home” and ways to prevent homelessness among the LGBTQIA+ community. 

TW: the text contains mentions of sexual assault and violence.

What does “home” mean to you?

Arvi: Home means everything, and it makes everything possible.

Home is a place of safety and escape – the importance of which was even more pronounced when Arvi was in mental health rehabilitation, and he was in need of a place of safety to retreat to, since he was not always able to be in the company of other people.

In his own words, Arvi states that he was experiencing “hidden homelessness”. He worked while experiencing homelessness; now he thinks that he wouldn’t accept school or a job in a similar situation anymore.

“The first point that makes everything possible is having a home”

According to Arvi, the absence of a place to call home also has a great impact on a person’s mental health, as homelessness creates constant stress and insecurity. Arvi spent nights with his friends when he was homeless.

Juha: Home is my own space, to which I have the key and control. It is a space to think and calm down. Home is a place where a LGBTQIA+ persons can start a safe family.

Juha became homeless five years ago due to a system error.

When Juha applied for financial support for housing, the application was not registered, and consequently, a decision could not be made. As a result, Juha lost his rental apartment and was left with nothing. Since then, Juha has struggled in the twists and turns of the Finnish bureaucracy and service system.

Did you have difficulties in finding a home? What happened?

“It has been a lot of trouble to find my own home”

Arvi is silent for a moment and thinks aloud how to express it briefly, but starts by telling that he is transgender, has transitioned, and is a former drug addict.

2016 is a turning point in Arvi’s life: that’s when started drug replacement therapy. Before durg replacement therapy, Arvi had been homeless and he was still homeless when starting therapy.  After entering treatment, however, things gradually started to change – but his credit information had gone bad and he had been flagged in the national credit register, which made it difficult to find a home.

Arvi says that there are cities in which it is practically impossible to find a home with his background. Fortunately, he got into Oulu University, and through his studies was fast-tracked to get a home. Arvi considers student status to be an important matter and a way to get a home. It was the longest term Arvi has had and he was able to keep it during his studies.

When he had to move out after graduating, he again faced a difficult process of finding an apartment.

Arvi says that getting an apartment in the capital region feels impossible considering his background. That’s why he doesn’t dream of working or studying in Helsinki, since it would mean a long commute.

“It’s interesting how things that happened a long time ago, that don’t say anything about me today, are still having a heavy impact. ”

Arvi hopes that the law reform concerning the credit register comes into force; this would remove the flags in the credit register related to credit/payment failures that happened a long time ago.

However, Arvi says that he is lucky that he is “passing”, meaning that Arvi passes for a man and people cannot tell he is trans.

However, Arvi continues by saying that when looking for work, people with a trans background are sorted out first, and when there is no work, it becomes even more difficult to get an apartment.

Finding an apartment wasn’t a problem for Juha, but as a gay man experiencing homelessness, he has encountered many shortcomings in the service system.

“When I was homeless, I ended up having to shout at the social services, ‘I’m gay’.”

“Due to an error in the system, I ended up in a systemic failure condition. So, an error occurring in Kela’s system messed up my socio-economic situation. System errors occur, when the authorities do not meet the client, when the authorities do not cooperate with each other, and when legislation transfers the client from one place to another; rendering the client outside or on the fringes of the system.”

Juha says that when dealing with housing services, he faced stigmatization, and neither his individual support needs nor his identity were not taken into account. A big part of those experiencing homelessness are cis men dealing with a substance abuse problem.

Juha has faced violence and sexual violence in housing units because of his sexuality. He emphasizes that it is safer for him to be in the drug-free housing unit of the Diakonia Institute.

Juha has also experienced injustice in health care: He has not been able to access the HIV medication he needs because he is homeless, which has been interpreted as a risk because he may not have a safe place to store his medication. HIV medication should be taken at the same time every day, because taking medication irregularly can cause drug resistance.

“I live without HIV medication because of my situation, because I do not have a substance abuse problem, but I am gay, I have had to come out of the closet on the front page of Iltalehti, trying to get help. I have experienced five  physical assaults and 11 situations of sexual violence in homelessness. I have been dissed when I tried to report sexual violence. It is impossible to describe the amount of mental violence one experiences as a homeless LGBTQIA person.

The worst was when I was placed in the countryside after a very brutal act of revenge: I was sent to the countryside, I didn’t meet any LGBTQIA+ people for over a year, I wasn’t allowed to talk about my sexuality. I experienced repeated sexual violence.”

What do you think should be improved? What should politicians do?

More education about different minority groups would be needed. It’s not about any special needs, but different needs.

As a trans person, it is also difficult to get services and help.

In his own words, Arvi lived in limbo and didn’t know what to do. Arvi didn’t want to seek treatment or help due to minority stress. More representatives of minorities would be needed for expert positions, so that help can be given by someone with authentic  understanding of the group in question.

“I didn’t want to make myself feel worse”

Arvi remembers that in Oulu, the drug replacement care facility had a rainbow flag. This stuck in Arvi’s mind. “You didn’t have to explain yourself in the same way, people had received training and that reduced my stress considerably.”

It would also be important to study and map out long-term homeless.

Arvi points out that the trans perspective has been an invisible and silenced topic in the discussion of homelessness.

Arvi also points out that different groups of people experience homelessness in different ways, there is no one absolute way. It’s different to be a homeless cis-straight woman with substance abuse issues from being a cis-straight man, or a trans person.

Arvi would like you to stop and ask “what could be done about your specific situation”

Juha himself is actively involved in finding and building solutions. He is e.g. a candidate in next year’s parliamentary elections, and he has recently founded Saatenkaari-ikkuna ry with other people, which works to prevent LGBTQIA homelessness.

“I myself have stepped into politics and organization activities. I have a continuous discussion on the topic with other decision-makers. Homelessness is not a disease but a consequence.”

Juha also mentions an upcoming initiative, which focuses on homelessness caused by reasons other than substance abuse and mental health problems. He states that there should be a housing unit where people experiencing homelessness are treated equitably and met as human beings, and everyone feels safe. No one should feel like they are being forced to come out.

Juha also points out that there are shortcomings in the service system and that different institutions do not communicate with each other. He emphasises the shortcoming of assuming that all those experiencing homelessness have a substance abuse problem. He hopes that the service system takes people’s identity and individual needs into account.

“In Helsinki, homelessness is divided between adult social work and substance abuse work and psychiatric work. Adult social work buys outsourced services, and they are often dangerous for LGBTQIA+ people. I have had to obtain a medical certificate in 2020 about my homosexuality, stating I do not have a substance abuse or mental health problem. My situation continues because the authorities are afraid of admitting their mistake.”

Lastly, Juha stresses the vulnerable position of LGBTQIA+ people:

“LGBTQIA+ people experiencing homelessness significantly more often than others due to the lack of a support network (family). According to a Spanish study,, LGBTQIA+ people experiencing homelessness face 12 times as much sexual violence than other homeless people. In a situation of sexual assault, the LGBTQIA+  person experiencing homelessnes as a victim, is likely to be made the culprit. If I were raped, and the rapist would contract HIV, I would probably be convicted for spreading it, even if I were the victim.”

23.11.2021

Seta’s general assembly: trans people’s rights must not be trampled in the name of feminism  

Statement 14th of November

LGBTI people’s rights are facing significant opposition, which in Europe shows particularly as opposition to trans and non-binary people’s rights. A wide range of actors oppose LGBTI people’s rights with a view to defend “traditional family values” and gender roles and to undermine women’s, LGBTI people’s and other groups’ right to their body. The intention is to deny trans and non-binary people’s control over their own gender and body.

Trans people’s rights are also being opposed in the name of feminism This implies a narrow definition of womanhood, and the intention is to exclude trans and non-binary persons from the definition. It is alleged that trans women pose a threat to the equality or even safety of cis women. These claims define womanhood narrowly, relying on old concepts of gender. Research has shown, however, that these security threats are completely unjustified, and the feelings of insecurity are due to active scaremongering. False fears can be alleviated by increasing awareness of gender diversity.

Categorising women into “real” and “other” kinds of women does nothing to promote women’s rights. On the contrary, it will empower those who aim to restrict women’s rights.

Seta’s general assembly concludes that women’s rights can be promoted only by taking the diversity of women into account. For example, violence against women is an experience shared by both cis and trans women as well as many non-binary persons. Women’s experiences differ because of factors such as ethnic background, skin colour and ability to function. Promoting issues specific to cis women does not necessitate the discrimination of trans people. Therefore, feminism needs to take the diversity of women and various experiences into account.

Seta’s general assembly appeals to feminist organisations to clearly denounce feminism that opposes the rights of trans women and non-binary persons. We encourage feminist organisations to invite trans and non-binary persons to engage in equality debate and consider together how to promote women’s rights without discrimination.

 

General assembly was held 2021 as an online meeting on 13th and 14th of November. 

08.11.2016

Finnish LGBTIQ+ rights organisations Seta and Trasek to appear at the United Nations Committee Against Torture 59th session: the treatment of trans and intersex people in Finland is cruel, inhuman and degrading

Seta and Trasek demand that the unnecessary and harmful cosmetic surgery done to intersex children is stopped immediately and that the Finnish Trans act is readily reformed to respect the right to self-determination.

The UN Committee Against Torture will review Finland and the realization of its human rights in November. A hearing with NGOs will be held in order to get a precise picture of how Finland ensures the human rights obligations set by the UN convention, where torture and other inhuman treatment is prohibited. Seta and Trasek, who delivered a report on the treatment of trans and intersex people, sends two participants to the session in Geneva November 8th. Amnesty International Finland will also appear in the hearing, and supports the demands presented by Seta and Trasek.

The alarming state of trans youth and the harsh demands of the trans act

A full reform of the trans act, a topic that has sparked intense debate in Finland for years, is one of the central demands of the NGOs, who want a trans act that is based on autonomy and self-determination.

“The current trans act in Finland doesn’t respect the most central human rights. It is simply cruel and inhuman to submit trans people to forced sterilization and years of psychiatric monitoring. To force someone into medical monitoring and have them undergo procedures in order for them to be able to change their name and have their gender legally recognized is humiliating. The trans act needs to be renewed so that it respects the right to self-determination”, says Kasper Kivistö, one of two NGO representatives in Geneva (on the left in the photo).

According to the NGOs, Finland should focus more on the alarming state that the trans youth is in.

“According to studies every second trans youth has to face physical violence, and discrimination and non-physical violence is even more common. Discrimination leads to serious consequences. More than every other trans youth has thought of self-harm and suicide”, says Panda Eriksson, who will attend the Geneva hearing with Kivistö.

“It is regrettably common that teachers, health care staff and parents try to minimize or deny a young trans person’s gender, or feel negatively about their gender identity. This needs to end. Trans youth need psychological and social support. The right to have your name and legal gender marker changed must be secured for adults and youth alike”, says Seta´s Secretary General Kerttu Tarjamo.

The unnecessary surgical treatment of intersex children needs to end

The NGOs also demand that Finland ends the so called “normalizing” surgeries on intersex children, who might not be more than babies or toddlers when they have to undergo genital surgery. Surgery is done on the outer genitalia to have the child’s body fit the ideal that dictates what a boy or a girl body should look like – even when the genitalia are completely functional.

“Intersexualism is part of the multitude found in nature and in gender. It’s not a problem that should be solved with a knife. The unnecessary operations done on children are a grave insult to their physical immunity and often result in problems such as loss of feeling in the genital area or chronic pain. These surgeries have to end immediately. Hormonal treatment, which is used to “steer” the development of gendered characteristics, has to change so that it’s only used with the informed consent and collaboration of the individual in question. A system that operates from above, dictating what a child’s gender should be and how they should experience their own body and their condition, is a human rights problem in every way”, says Terhi Viikki from Trasek.

The UN Committee Against Torture will review the Finnish situation based on reports delivered by the government and by NGOs, as well as by the hearings organized in Geneva. The committee will present the Finnish government with recommendations on the development of human rights within 1-2 months after the hearing.

For further information or interview requests:

Seta’s and Trasek’s report can be found and read: http://seta.fi/cat-2016/

The UN page that features all the documents related to the reviewing of Finland:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Countries.aspx?CountryCode=FIN&Lang=EN

 

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

Panda Eriksson
panda@trasek.fi

Kasper Kivistö
kasper@trasek.fi

Foto: Panda Eriksson (left side) and Kasper Kivistö. Foto Sonja Siikanen.

Trans people are transgender people and non-binary people, among others. Being trans means your gender doesn’t correlate with the gender you were assigned at birth.

Intersexualism refers to a congenital condition where the anatomical or physical features of the body that are usually gendered aren’t unambiguously typically male or typically female.

07.05.2015

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

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

26.02.2013

Seta published LGBT-youth´s life stories

Seta’s DVD about lives of young LGBT in Finland was published in the end of January.

(From the left) Reiska, Martu Väisänen and Eska.

“Diversity is in us” gathers the stories of eight LGBT youngsters from all around Finland.

Ida, Niko, Darja, Reiska, Petra, Pekka, Tiina and Eska reflect on their lives and families, dating, bullying and getting support. They also discuss how they have dealt with norms they face within the Finnish society.

Reiska, who identifies hirself as transgender, says that it was a bit of a challenge to participate in the making of the film. It took some courage.

“I went back and forth whether to go along because I was worried about the consequences. Everyone would see my story, but so what? I live my life for my own sake. I wanted to be one of the brave young people who would tell about their lives”, 23-year-old Reiska says. “This was my chance to speak for others.”

“This kind of material would have been useful for me as an adolescent, when there was no one else to identify with where I’m from. This is why a agreed to join this project”, 18 year old transsexual Eska tells.

LGBTI Rights in Finland Seta demands that diversity of gender and sexual orientation would be included in all subjects at schools. Anders Huldén, Seta’s Youth Work Coordinator, considers personal stories from everyday life a good way to raise awareness about the consequences of strict norms.

“The stories of these young people give something to think about for everyone, regardless of age, gender or sexual orientation. This DVD is not enough, though. Diversity truly is in all of us and this must be considered at schools on everyday basis”, Huldén says.

The duration of the DVD is 20 minutes. Subtitles are provided in Finnish, English and Swedish both on the DVD and the clips on YouTube. The DVD was produced during 2012 by Martu Väisänen from Oulu. The DVD is distributed free of charge to schools, youth workers and for educational purposes.

Press quality photos of the young:

https://www. dropbox. com/sh/5vczz02xk9f89xx/HMa34bIv84

Photos: Martu Väisänen

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