Many LGBTI people in the Nordic countries today experience violence, hate speech, threats and harassment in various forms. This is serious, especially since these crimes are often motivated by hatred of individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. But the Nordic countries are also working to develop long-term policies to improve this situation.

As part of this work, the Nordic Council of Ministers initiated a project that focuses on hatred directed at LGBTI people in the Nordic countries. Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK), located at the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, was commissioned to survey relevant strategies, actors and initiatives in the Nordic countries and present the results of this survey in a report.

This survey shows that the majority of countries are working proactively to prevent and identify hate crimes against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. This work often involves government agencies and authorities as well as civil society organisations.

The survey also highlights some of the challenges and differences in how the Nordic countries are working to combat hate crime against LGBTI people. Below is a summary of these countries’ initiatives related to hate crime in various areas.

An accessible version of the publication(in English) can be found here.

Despite the fact that life conditions of LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries have changed in the last seventy years, major public health surveys indicate that this group suffers from an increased amount of mental and physical health issues compared to the rest of the population.

Younger generations of LGBTI persons see their lives affected, too, by having a sexuality or gender identity that falls outside heteronormativity. Among other factors, this is due to the exposure to stress that LGBTI persons experience in daily life, so-called minority stress. This includes the risk of or actual harassment, vulnerability, and violence. Further, it includes facing prejudice and discrimination in everyday life, having to sometimes conceal your identity, and dealing with internalized homo- and transphobia, which in turn have detrimental effects on health.

The Nordic Council of Ministers, therefore, has initiated a project that aims to shed light on the well-being of young LGBTI persons. The purpose of the project is to promote knowledge and experiences in the region, in order to contribute to improved life conditions for young LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries. Nordic Information on Gender, NIKK, has carried out the project, which has resulted in the report at hand.

The report consists of two parts:

• A literature review describing the current state of research regarding the wellbeing of young LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries, and
• A survey, presenting a selection of efforts aimed to improve the well-being of young LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries.

Summaries of the report in Nordic languages

DK: Resumé af rapporten: Helbred, velvære og levevilkår blandt unge LGBTI-personer i Norden: En forskningsoversigt og kortlægning af initiativer

FI: Raportin yhteenveto: Nuorten LGBTI-henkilöiden terveys, hyvinvointi ja elinolot Pohjoismaissa: Tutkimuskatsaus ja aloitteiden kartoitus

IS: Samantekt af skýrslunni:Heilsa, líðan og lífsskilyrði ungs hinsegin fólks á Norðurlöndunum: Rannsóknaryfirlit og kortlagning aðgerða

NO: Oppsummering av rapporten: Helse, velvære og livsvilkår hos unge LGBTI-personer i Norden: En forskningsoversikt og kartlegging av tiltak

An accessible version of the publication(in English) can be found here.