Facing hatred - The Nordic LGBTI meeting in Reykjavik 25.-27.9.2023

At the end of September, I had an interesting opportunity to participate in a meeting of Nordic rainbow organizations in Reykjavik. The occasion also had dramatic echoes and a sad reminder that the realization of the rights of rainbow people is by no means taken for granted even in model countries of human rights.

 

It was great to talk to people from all the Nordic countries, including the Faroe Islands and Greenland. I learned from the people of these countries that even official rainbow rights are not implemented in the same way everywhere. In both of these countries, trans people are treated in Denmark. The most upsetting thing was to hear that the use and import of hormones that are essentially related to treatments is prohibited in Greenland. The attitude towards trans people might be rough there anyway, although in fact the Inuit tradition recognizes gender diversity.

 

The countries' situations varied to some extent, but all reported increased anti-gender activism and a huge increase in hate speech and threats of violence. Several workshops were held on this theme.

 

The equality ministers of the countries were also present, and they met with each other on these themes. In particular, the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, had invested a lot in the occasion, and she also gave a speech at the opening at the Reykjavik City Hall. At the same event, I got to know Johannes, the chairman of the Swedish trans organization FPES, who had been assaulted in July in connection with Pride in Vesterås.

 

Ministers were interviewed at the conference about the results of their meeting. Nothing very concrete was promised from that direction, but monitoring the situation from a Nordic perspective is certainly much-needed support in all countries.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark's Minister for Equality, seemed to be generally unaware of the problems in the areas under her responsibility. The delegations of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland took care that ignorance could not be pleaded after the conference.

We also had discussions with the Finnish Minister for Equality, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen. She promised to invite the Finnish rainbow organizations to a discussion about domestic challenges in the near future.

 

I myself participated in a workshop related to discrimination in working life, where a Nordic project was discussed to map the situation. The report on it will be published next March, and part of its section on Finland will be based on the survey reports I prepared. The situation in the Nordic countries seems to be quite similar here: Discrimination still occurs, and members of gender minorities are at greater risk of marginalization than the rest of the population. On the other hand, positive developments were also observed everywhere, members of gender minorities had experienced fairly extensive support due to their identity at workplaces.

 

In short periods of free time, I explored Reykjavik, which was previously unknown to me. The core of the city consists of small and in some places charming commercial and residential buildings - only a few buildings gave a more massive impression. Of course, an impressive new business centre had been built by the sea, which I consistently avoided.

 

The conference ended with a wonderful gala dinner where we enjoyed local delicacies. As a louse hater, I had avoided cod until then, but now it came to my plate not so unexpectedly, but still without asking. I was amazed at the way it was prepared: I had never had cod to taste. And it tasted good, the typical dull taste of cod was gone! I had already tasted lamb before, and it tasted great every time it was prepared with high quality.

 

At the end of the gala dinner, the program was also wonderful: a large number of original Icelandic Eurovision representatives had been brought to the place. I personally skipped that treat because I wanted to keep the domestic circadian rhythm - in Iceland, the clock is three hours behind ours.

 

When I left the old movie theatre, which had been the venue, I talked for a while with the security person, who I had known, and I said that it seems to be a bit out of the ordinary gig... I didn't know at the time how right that throw was. When we were in the conference facilities, we had to wear a name tag hanging from a rainbow ribbon around our necks at all times. Of course, it was hidden under the coat during the approximately one kilometre journey through the city centre to the hotel. As an oldish lady I haven't experience any particular trheat, not even any attention, so I've felt quite safe while being out so far.

After a restless night of sleep - the souvenir flu started to hit - I looked at the messages in our delegation's WhatsApp group and was shocked:

At night, my new friend Johannes was beaten on his way back to the hospital. The main reason for this had apparently been the rainbow ribbon given for safety, which had been visible. I also heard that the party had not been stopped because of this, and there had been no information about it, but people were relying on the rumours they received through their own networks. However, taxis were reserved for those returning to the hotel. The Finnish delegation had held a debriefing meeting right after arriving at the hotel while I was sleeping, and another debriefing meeting was held after returning to Finland.

  

Anti-gay and anti-trans hatred arises out of fear and confusion towards difference, which then so often turns into aggression. Currently, this hatred is ruthlessly exploited by international religious actors and nationalist and populist political movements. The central task of equality work is to make these things familiar and commonplace, so that this type of thinking loses its growth platform.