Background: LGBTI policy and history in the Nordic countries

There are both similarities and differences between the Nordic countries when it comes to LGBTI people’s history, rights and living conditions (Bromseth & Siverskog, 2013). Homosexuality was previously banned by law in all the Nordic countries and was decriminalised in the 20th century in the following order: Denmark 1933, Iceland 1940, Sweden 1944, Finland 1971 and Norway 1972. Some general features are that during the 1950s and 1960s public sentiment was strongly anti-homosexual and there were few places where LGBTI people could meet, which could also be difficult to access. During the 1960s and 1970s, a more public homoculture emerged in parallel with a more openly homosexual movement. In the 1980s, all Nordic countries had decriminalised homosexuality, but the outbreak of HIV and AIDS created new stigmas around homosexuality and the homo environment suffered many backlashes (Bromseth & Siverskog, 2013). Many of the Nordic countries were early to introduce legislation that permitted a legal change of sex and access to trans care after examination and diagnosis. However the legislation was also coloured by narrow gender norms.

The largest LGBTI organisations in the Nordic countries were established in the 1940s, for example in Denmark in 1948, Norway in 1949 and Sweden in 1948. In Finland, the first organisation with homosexuals as the target group was established in 1969, in Iceland in 1978, in Åland in the early 1990s, and in Greenland in the early 2020s. The early organisations targeted bisexual lesbian and gay individuals, and separate trans groups were formed in the 1960s in several Nordic countries. It was not until the 21st century that transgender people were officially included in the umbrella organisations, and in recent years, intersex has also been included under the LGBTI umbrella. Lesbian women have also often built up their own feminist contexts and organised themselves outside the national LGBTI organisations. These divisions still characterise those who are now older and have been part of those environments. (Bromseth & Siverskog, 2013).

Today, the LGBTI environment continues to be important for those who are older, and several Nordic countries have organisations that offer social and political gathering spaces specifically for older LGBTI people. These countries have also often been a driving force in getting the specific living conditions of older LGBTI people on the political agenda. In Finland, Gummedalen for lesbian and bisexual women and Fin-Bears for gay and bisexual men were established in the 1990s as places to meet socially, which also pushed for the first survey of older LGBTI people’s conditions in Finland. Since 2021, there is also Sateenkaariseniorit – Regnbågsseniorer (rainbow seniors), which also include trans and intersex people. The association is run voluntarily as a place to meet socially in Helsinki and also provides courses for those working in the healthcare system. In Norway in 2006, FRI Oslo Akershus initiated a project on queer ageing, primarily driven by older activists in the organisation. A number of social groups were established specifically targeting older people, and these exist today, in addition to their own Rainbow meeting place for seniors in Oslo. Multiple senior centres for older people also started their own rainbow meetings in 2022. In Sweden there are several social groups that were established in the late 1990s and early 2000s in several major cities: Gayseniorerna (the Gay seniors) and Golden ladies in Stockholm, HBT-seniorerna (the LGBT seniors) in Gothenburg, and since several years there are local senior groups within RFSL in Gävle, Malmö, Västerås and Örebro. Since 2018, RFSL has prioritised issues related to older people at national level. There are also intergenerational projects, Regnbågsseniorer (Rainbow seniors) in Gothenburg and Generation hbtqi (Generation LGBTI) in Stockholm, which aim to facilitate contacts between people of different ages. FPES, an association for trans people, does not specifically target older people but many older people are among its members. In Denmark, there are several groups that do not necessarily profile themselves as targeting older people, but have members who are 50+. These groups share specific interests, identities or history. In Denmark, there is no specific meeting place for older LGBTI people, but a project will be launched in autumn 2023.

The Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland have no social meeting places of their own for older LGBTI people, but do have active LGBTI organisations. Regnbågsfyren (the Rainbow Lighthouse) is a member organisation under the Finnish organisation SETA, and was founded in 2005. LGBT+ Føroyar (Faroes) was started in 2012 but has few older participants in its activities. Lgbtq+ Greenland has only recently started, but has no active older members.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) maps the status of LGBTI people’s rights in Europe annually with a focus on seven thematic areas: equality and non-discrimination; family; hate crime and hate speech; legal gender recognition; intersex bodily integrity; civil society space; and asylum.  In its latest Rainbow Europe Map, all Nordic countries rank high: Denmark (3), Iceland (5), Finland (6), Sweden (8) and Norway (9) among the 49 countries in the ranking (ILGA Europe, 2023). The Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland are not included in the Map. In the most recent Map, ILGA notes that a general trend can be seen of an increase in hate speech, especially targeting trans people. Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden are all mentioned as countries where politicians and representatives of the state have made public statements expressing hatred of LGBTI people. They also see a trend of increased violence against LGBTI people, where two people were murdered and twenty injured in an attack outside an LGBTI bar in Oslo in 2022 (ILGA Europe, 2023).

All Nordic countries currently have anti-discrimination laws that cover sexual orien­tation and gender identity. The nature of the protection and the sectors of society covered vary. In all countries, there are protections in place for the work­place. From an international perspective, the Nordic countries have also come a long way in terms of opportunities for LGBTI people to start a family. In all Nordic countries, same-sex couples have the right to marry, and they are covered by the same law that covers heterosexual relationships. (Nordic Council of Ministers, 2020).

The possibilities for changing one’s legal gender also vary between the Nordic countries. In Denmark, Sweden and Finland, the age limit for changing one’s legal gender is 18 years and in Norway it is 6 years old (over 16 without the consent of a parent or custodian or county governor). In Iceland there is no age limit but children younger than 15 years must have their guardian’s consent or get a consent from an expert committee. In Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, the process is currently based on self-determination, so the consent of a third party (a doctor or a judge) is not required to change one’s legal gender. In Sweden, a gender dysphoria investigation and a diagnosis (of gender dysphoria) are required in order to change one’s legal gender. In the Faroe Islands and Greenland, it is not possible to change one’s legal gender.

In Iceland, legislation prohibits interventions that alter the sex characteristics of newborns with an intersex variation, until they themselves attain the age of consent. This type of legislation is lacking in the other Nordic countries. In an international comparison, several of the Nordic countries are lagging behind when it comes to legislation covering recognition of legal gender and bodily integrity for people with intersex variations. However, all the Nordic countries are planning initiatives or new laws in the area (ILGA Europe, 2023; Nordic Council of Ministers, 2020).