Furthermore, the study shows that discrimination based on ethnicity and religion is statistically significant, even when controlling for the significance of other background factors. Ethnic background remains the most important factor for ethnically or religiously motivated discrimination, even when accounting for factors such as living conditions, housing situation, education level or employment. Discrimination based on ethnicity and religiosity is also linked to socioeconomic status, education level and employment. The study shows a tendency for LGBTI people from families with strong honour norms and/or with parents who are highly religious to be subjected to discrimination based on ethnicity or religion to a greater extent than other LGBTI people.
Lesbian or bisexual women who have recently become Danish citizens are identified in the study as a minority that is vulnerable in a multitude of ways, including due to ethnicity, religion, sexuality and gender. The study refers to an English study showing that some Muslim LGBTI women experience a lack of belonging within both LGBTI environments and Muslim communities. Many do not identify with the visible LGBTI communities dominated by people from the ethnic majority, while also being concerned about encountering racism, Islamophobia and cultural insensitivity in these contexts. Women are also affected by the idea that the only place they can expect protection is within their family and/or ethnic-religious community. This often makes it difficult for them to access the public support systems, for example.
The study’s conclusions highlight several structural and societal factors that negatively affect the living conditions of newly arrived LGBTI people. Among other things, it shows that more than half of newly arrived LGBTI people have experienced discrimination on the basis of their ethnic or religious background in the past year, and that a significant minority – about 40 per cent – report having been subjected to sexual abuse. These problems require action on a broader societal level and cannot be addressed solely by actors such as RED+ or other organisations with specialised social expertise within the target group. Although the study’s main focus is to provide recommendations to specific actors who encounter newly arrived LGBTI people in their work, broader efforts against discrimination are required, involving cooperation between several social actors.
As in Denmark, double discrimination in Norway is highlighted as a problem that particularly affects LGBTI people with a foreign background, as they may be subjected to racism and discrimination on the basis of their country of origin, ethnicity, skin colour, gender identity and sexual orientation. They experience discrimination in various areas, such as housing, work, education, healthcare and public places, as well as in social contexts such as dating environments.
In addition to this, it is important to note that LGBTI people with a foreign background may be exposed to racism and encounter prejudice from LGBTI communities from the social majority, as well as negative reactions from families or compatriots in the diaspora (in the form of verbal condemnation, exclusion or physical violence). A report on the living conditions of LGBTI people in Norway shows that it is more common for LGBTI people with foreign backgrounds to have been subjected to sexual violence, had suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide, compared to the majority population. Many experience minority stress, which can lead to mental health problems, suicide and drug abuse.
Sweden’s action plan includes a chapter entitled “Focus area: Violence, discrimination and other violations”. It consists of four parts: LGBTI-based hate crimes and LGBTI hostility; violence and other violations; work against discrimination and for equal rights and opportunities for LGBTI people; and work for legal security and equal treatment in the asylum process. The content within these problem areas and proposed measures indicate a broad understanding of violence, both in public environments and private relationships. It is an approach that highlights a holistic perspective on violence against LGBTI people, including LGBTI-based hate crimes, prejudice and intolerance.
Violence in close relationships is also included within the focus area, and it is noted that LGBTI people’s vulnerability to violence in close relationships follows the same pattern as violence in heterosexual relationships. At the same time, it is noted that there may be additional barriers to seeking support and help for LGBTI people due to the risk of discrimination or prejudice. However, this section focuses primarily on honour-based violence and oppression. LGBTI people are described as particularly vulnerable in contexts where honour-based violence and oppression occur. Similar to other steering documents on honour-based violence and oppression, honour contexts are described with reference to honour norms and honour culture: “Heteronormative ideas are central to cultures of honour, which can mean that a sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression that goes against the norm is seen as a threat to a family’s honour.” Conversion attempts are referred to as a specific expression of violence.
Religion and religiosity
Another theme that emerges from the analysis of the steering documents and reports studied is the importance of religion and religiosity. Religiosity or a relationship to religious faith is an important factor that is often raised in analyses of LGBTI people’s vulnerability to violence. As presented in the previous section, LGBTI people are exposed to discrimination from social institutions and the majority population. They also experience a lack of acceptance of LGBTI identities and violence and threats of violence within families. According to the study by Als Research, the risk of experiencing discrimination on the basis of gender identity and/or sexuality is greatest among younger LGBTI people, among non-cisgender people and among LGBTI people from families in which the family’s reputation and/or honour influences their view of LGBTI people.
As part of its study, Als Research has conducted interviews with newly arrived LGBTI individuals from families with strong honour norms. The interviews show that LGBTI individuals from families with honour norms or with highly religious parents feel particularly vulnerable. Respondent’s experiences encompassed being excluded from social events, being socially ostracised by their families, being pressured to talk to a religious counsellor, being placed under house arrest and receiving threats of being sent on re-education trips. LGBTI people with foreign backgrounds reported a need to navigate between their own desires and the norms and expectations of their family and relatives.
The Danish study links the living conditions of LGBTI people to notions of honour and religion as background factors. Families’ views of sexuality and gender identity are described as part of honour norms. The study shows a significant correlation between age, a family’s religiosity, living conditions and geographical location, and the likelihood of honour and reputation being factors influencing the family’s views on sexuality and gender identity. In other words, there are several factors that result in stronger honour norms, such as living situation, i.e. whether young LGBTI people live with their families or not, and degree of religiosity. Previous studies have identified religiosity as an important factor in views on homosexuality, for example. A high degree of religiosity increases the likelihood of negative attitudes towards homosexuality (both Danish and international studies).
The study notes that, in relation to the threat of violence and intimidation faced by LGBTI individuals who have recently become Danish citizens, there is no significant correlation between coming from a family where reputation and honour are considered important and the risk of being subjected to threats of violence or violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Instead, ethnic background is considered to be the most significant factor in the risk of violence and threats in relation to sexuality and gender identity. This in turn means that, in relation to violence and threats of violence (not only honour-based violence), there may be other factors that can influence violence or threats of violence within the family. One aspect of religiosity concerns growing up in religious communities where LGBTI-hostile attitudes may prevail. As a consequence, LGBTI people may be forced to break away from their families and other communities. Several LGBTI people in Norway state that it can be challenging to combine their LGBTI identity and religious beliefs. Sometimes it can be portrayed as incompatible identities, for example when religious communities with strong traditional gender norms do not recognise same-sex relationships. As a result, LGBTI people use different strategies to deal with these situations. They leave and break away, renegotiate and try to define themselves as queer and religious, or find a way to balance their beliefs and identity.
The issue of religious communities and the various religious traditions most often associated with homophobic and conservative norms can be assessed in different ways, and there is always a risk of generalised and unbalanced perceptions. Norway’s action plan highlights the Church of Norway as an example of a church that has opened its doors to same-sex couples wishing to marry. Several LGBTI groups and organisations are working to increase tolerance and acceptance in religious environments. Examples include Salam, an organisation for queer Muslims, and the Queer Christian Network, a network of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who belong to or have a background in free church communities.
A report on LGBTI people with foreign backgrounds in Finland addresses the issue of religion and its significance for LGBTI people. It confirms that religion and interpretations of religious texts are used to justify discriminatory treatment and violence. Interpretations of religious traditions can lead to LGBTI people being discriminated against and excluded from their faith communities or other religious communities. In these cases, LGBTI identity is portrayed as a sin, and religious ideologies are often used to justify abusive behaviour. Religious values and beliefs can be used to justify violence against LGBTI people, including violence in close relationships and honour-based violence. Based on the accounts of the interviewees, conservative values are clearly present in certain religious contexts, in which respondents experienced rejection, exclusion, discrimination and psychological and physical violence.
The report uses the term ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual’ violence (‘religious abuse’), similar to Finland’s action plan on violence against children. Religious violence occurs when the leader of a religious group or the group itself manipulates the victim and uses interpretations of religion to commit abuse. According to the report, it is particularly common among people with an asylum or refugee background for religious beliefs to be linked to exclusion from social contexts. Experiences of discrimination and psychological and physical violence, including honour-based violence, emerged as a recurring theme in the stories. It turned out that migration itself did not necessarily mean that such experiences ceased; several participants stated that they had also been subjected to discrimination and abuse in Finland, often from groups within their own diaspora.
The role of religion is discussed in the report based on the fact that different interpretations of religious texts are used to justify violence. The interpretations focus on discussions about who and what is considered right for members of a Catholic, Muslim, Jewish or other religious community. Interpretative authority is described as the symbolic power to establish boundaries and who is to be excluded from a community.
That said, there is also an important discussion about perceptions that an LGBTI identity is incompatible with religious identity and faith. It has been established that such a dichotomy is false. There are various interpretations of religious texts, some of which are more conservative and hostile towards LGBTI people, while others are more open and welcoming towards them. An understanding based on the incompatibility between being an LGBTI person and a religious believer can mistakenly lead to the view that religion is always oppressive while secular societies stand for openness and freedom. According to the report, it is possible to reconcile religiosity with a queer identity. LGBTI people in different religious communities need to negotiate these dual identities and certain expectations or social codes in relation to their gender or sexuality.
Conversion attempts
Conversion attempts are a form of violence usually described in relation to honour-based violence and oppression. A report on LGBTI people with foreign backgrounds in Finland studies the problem in relation to the LGBTI group as a whole in different contexts, rather than with a specific focus on honour-based violence and oppression. In Finland, conversion attempts are not criminalised. However, in 2021, both the Finnish Psychiatric Association and the Finnish Psychological Association issued statements that so-called ‘therapies’ aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity are harmful to their mental health. Although such methods are not supported by professionals, conversion attempts are still used in certain circles.
Denmark’s action plan proposes that the possibility of introducing a ban on attempts to convert minors be investigated. A sub-project has been initiated to explore the possibility and need for such a ban. According to the study conducted by Als Research, conversion attempts are a specific form of violence that affects LGBTI people. Experiences of conversion attempts are linked to honour norms in that conversion attempts are described as particularly prevalent among LGBTI people who come from families in which reputation and honour are highly valued and/or parents are highly religious. It is important to note that the study could not comment on the prevalence of such cases in Muslim communities in Denmark more generally. However, based on an interview with a former counsellor from the organisation Sabaah, the study of ‘conversion attempts’ emphasises that attempts at healing in ethnic minority circles may in some cases take the form of, for example, punishment and sanctions or re-education trips to the home country.
According to Norway’s action plan, conversion attempts is a separate area of intervention. Conversion attempts are defined as treatment-like measures intended to make an individual change or deny (or suppress) their sexual orientation or gender identity. According to the action plan, this can represent a form of negative social control. LGBTI children and young people are described as a group that is particularly vulnerable to various forms of violence and control. Although it is accepted that greater knowledge is needed about their living conditions, it is clear that children who break with gender and sexuality norms have poorer living conditions than other children. Children and young people with migrant backgrounds who violate family norms regarding gender identity and sexual orientation risk being subjected to negative social control and honour-based violence in the form of, for example, deprivation of liberty, involuntary trips abroad and forced marriage.
As in other countries, there is little research on the extent of conversion attempts in Norway. In autumn 2020, the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir) conducted a small study of 13 actors’ knowledge of conversion attempts in Norway. This was not a scientific study and the results must therefore be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, they indicate that conversion attempts do occur in Norway, including those targeting children.
In Norway, conversion attempts have been banned in accordance with proposals in the analysed action plan to investigate a legal ban on such practices. An investigation has been carried out to examine the need for legislative changes to prevent this type of practice, who may need protection and what measures may need to be regulated, as well as the extent to which current legislation already prohibits acts related to conversion attempts.
Several acts are criminalised: conversion attempts, severe conversion attempts and the marketing of conversion attempts. The proposals cover both adult victims and children, also taking into account consequences such as the degree of harm, duration and whether the crime was committed by multiple perpetrators. In the Council on Legislation’s referral on the proposal, conversion attempts have been analysed from several different perspectives, including a human rights perspective – whether human rights can be an obstacle to a ban on conversion attempts. Several rights are analysed, such as the right to privacy and family life, freedom of religion and freedom of expression. It has been established that, as these rights are not absolute, they may be restricted in accordance with the principles of necessity and proportionality.
Sweden’s action plan mentions that young LGBTI people in particular are at risk of being subjected to honour-based violence and oppression and undergoing so-called conversion attempts. Conversion attempts are not specifically criminalised in Sweden. According to the report Strengthened protections for personal integrity – The need for measures against virginity checks, virginity certificates and virginity procedures, as well as conversion attempts, an inquiry concluded that no specific regulation should be introduced to criminalise so-called conversion attempts of LGBTI people. According to the investigation, current regulations provide sufficient scope to take criminal action against the most serious forms of conversion attempts in particular, and a specific criminal provision on conversion attempts would probably not contribute effectively to strengthening protection against conversion attempts.
The action plan refers to the report Young LGBTQ people’s vulnerability to conversion attempts in Sweden (2022), published by the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF), which presents a study on various forms of coercion and pressure to which young LGBTI people are subjected to change their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. MUCF bases its work on the definitions of honour-based violence and oppression used by the Government, the Swedish Gender Equality Agency and the National Centre against Honour-based Violence and Oppression at the Östergötland County Administrative Board. These definitions make it clear that honour-based violence and oppression are based on strong “patriarchal and heteronormative ideas” (Swedish Gender Equality Agency, 2021b; Prop. 2019/20:131) and aim to “uphold common norms and values that prevail within a family/clan or a larger collective” (Östergötland County Administrative Board, 2020).
The report emphasises that the findings cannot be used as a basis for assessing how common different types of conversion attempts are. Nor is it possible to draw any conclusions about the environments in which conversion attempts are most common. Among the environments where conversion attempts occur, free church environments are mentioned, as well as conversion attempts linked to honour-based violence and oppression. These two environments are the main focus of the report. Links between conversion attempts and religiosity as a decisive factor are recurrent, with conversion attempts being motivated by conservative religious movements within various Christian denominations, as well as other religions such as Islam and Judaism. The report refers to previous studies that distinguish between honour-based violence and oppression and other forms of vulnerability that may in some respects resemble honour-based vulnerability. MUCF also follows this distinction, but no further reasons are given for doing so beyond the precedent set by previous studies.
In this context, it is interesting to look at the 2011 study LGBT and Honour produced by the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Rights (RFSL), in which ‘conversion’ is one of the themes. The interview material contains interviews with 18 people from free church environments and environments in which honour-based violence occurs (‘families with honour norms’). The report highlights a difference in the motives behind conversion: in free church environments, the aim of the family and/or congregation is to save the young person’s soul, as homosexuality is regarded as a demon or illness that must be exorcised, while the motive behind honour-based violence is to save a family’s reputation.
The report Strengthened protections for personal integrity (SOU 2023:37) refers, among other things, to the MUCF report when assessing the need to criminalise conversion attempts. The report emphasises that conversion attempts are not a form of medical care or treatment and that when considering whether conversion attempts should be criminalised it is necessary to ensure that criminal provisions do not cover gender-affirming care. The report also highlights the need to delimit the concept of conversion attempts from gender-affirming care, which aims to adapt the body to an individual’s gender identity to reduce gender dysphoria and alleviate the suffering it causes. The goal of gender-affirming care is therefore to enable the individual to live in accordance with their gender identity.
The term ‘conversion attempts’ refers to attempts to bring about lasting changes in a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, i.e. a ‘conversion’. Changes to the appearance or functions of the body are not covered. Four categories of conversion attempts are identified: 1) methods that target the body directly, such as hormone treatment and surgical procedures (‘body-based methods’); 2) methods that resemble or are derived from talk therapy, the twelve-step programme and similar approaches (‘therapy-imitative methods’); 3) methods based on religious rituals and other religiously related actions, such as intercessory prayer, pastoral care conversations and exorcisms (‘religious methods’); and 4) other attempts at influence that do not fall under the other categories but which can range from ostracism and verbal persuasion to forced marriage and serious acts of violence.
The last approach is linked to honour contexts. It is pointed out that in this case, actions do not need to be methodical. They may involve isolated and spontaneous acts of violence with the aim of punishing a person who has violated heteronormative social expectations. This may occur in conjunction with other punishments, such as ostracism, exclusion from the community, and removal from positions of responsibility in a congregation. The investigator writes: “Such actions approach the limit of what may be considered conversion attempts”. This is because the material does not clearly indicate the extent to which the measures are used for the purpose of ‘converting’ individuals. The investigator emphasises that the measures may be aimed at ‘converting’ individuals but also preserving or restoring the honour of a family or clan.
The inquiry concludes that no specific legislation criminalising conversion attempts should be introduced. It states that existing legislation provides ample opportunity to take criminal action against various forms of influence for the purpose of conversion and that further criminalisation would not serve as an effective means of counteracting conversion attempts. According to the investigation, certain acts fall outside the scope of criminal liability, such as pressure in the form of ostracism or exclusion from a community and other similar social punishments. In May 2025, the Ministry of Justice submitted a draft bill to the Council on Legislation with a proposal to specifically criminalise psychological violence. The draft states that the proposed regulation is expected to strengthen criminal law protection against conversion attempts.