Tine Alavi works at Interfem, an organisation that runs the project Minority Stress – Interfem’s Nordic Network for Feminist Activism. The project received funding from the Nordic Gender Equality Fund in 2022 and also involves Feministparaplyet Åland (the Feminist Umbrella Åland) and Salam Norway, an organisation for Muslim LGBTI people. During the project, the organisations have arranged network meetings on minority stress for women and transgender people facing racism. Meetings have been held in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. 

− We have had participants of all ages, from 18 to 60, and some really young participants too, because people could bring their children. We have had 40–80 participants per meeting, and sometimes we unfortunately had to turn people away because there was not enough space. There has been a lot of interest.

− Many of the participants have said that it is their first time being in a room like this, with so many others who share their experiences. Such meeting places become empowering forums where one’s experiences are validated; they offer opportunities to meet others to organise with for change. For example, a number of participants from Norway, who met through the network meetings, formed their own Interfem organisation, so now we have a sister organisation in Norway. It is very important that there are platforms where women and transgender people who face racism can support each other and develop collective strategies to deal with minority stress. As long as the racist structures that cause minority stress exist, we need to create platforms where we can get support and where we can overcome isolation and loneliness, but of course other efforts are also needed.

− Research and knowledge on minority stress is relatively new, but we now know that it causes problems for both individuals and society. Minority stress leads to increased risk of physical and mental health problems. It includes, for example, the constant worry of being met with negative perceptions and always having to be on standby. This is a stress that majority groups do not experience. There is still a need for more knowledge about minority stress, but above all I think we are in a situation now where knowledge needs to be implemented in different areas of society. How do you deal with this in, for example, education, health care, the labour market and social services? Many people find it difficult to find a psychologist with expertise in minority stress, for example, and that should not be the case. Support from society needs to be better. More work is also needed to counteract the structures that cause minority stress.

− One reason is that the racism that exists in the Nordic countries has a specific expression. The Nordic countries have not tackled racism in the same way as the USA, for example. They talk more openly about their history and colonialism, and the Nordic countries have a very strong self-image as being tolerant and accepting. This makes it difficult to label the racism that exists, and when it is pointed out, there can be a clash with that tolerant self-image. We have seen during the network meetings that this is something that leaves an impression on people who encounter racism.