Initiatives to promote the equal rights and opportunities of LGBTIQ people

An improved structure for coordinating and monitoring efforts

So far, twelve government agencies have been designated as LGBTIQ strategic authorities. Being appointed a strategic authority means that the authority must promote equal rights and opportunities in their activities, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. This means that an LGBTIQ perspective must be integrated and visible in the authorities’ activities. The twelve authorities are the Equality Ombudsman, the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society, the Public Health Agency of Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Swedish Arts Council, the Swedish Gender Equality Agency, the Swedish National Agency for Education, the Swedish Migration Agency, the Swedish Police Authority, the Ombudsman for Children, the Family Law and Parental Support Authority and the Living History Forum. 

In addition to its mission as an LGBTIQ strategic authority, the Public Health Agency of Sweden is tasked with supporting, coordinating and following up the efforts of LGBTIQ strategic authorities within the scope of the strategy and action plan for equal rights and opportunities for LGBTIQ people. This means that the Public Health Agency of Sweden will support LGBTIQ strategic authorities in their efforts to integrate the LGBTIQ perspective into their activities, support coordination between authorities and compile and analyse the results of their work. 

Violence, discrimination and other violations

The Swedish Gender Equality Agency has been tasked with surveying the vulnerability and risk of intimate partner violence of LGBTIQ people and analysing the need for measures aimed at this target group and relevant professional groups and making proposals. 

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society is tasked with carrying out an in-depth analysis of the need for support measures on honour-related violence and oppression, including exposure to attempts to ‘convert’ young LGBTIQ people. Where necessary, the agency will develop such support measures and subsequently develop and disseminate knowledge about the measures available. The agency will also take into account that children and young people also need access to information about conversion attempts and what support is available in such situations. 

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society is tasked with developing and disseminating information campaigns and knowledge support to prevent young LGBTIQ people being exploited for sexual or pornographic purposes, and being subjected to sexual violence, abuse or violations, both digital and physical. 

The National Centre for Knowledge on Men’s Violence Against Women at Uppsala University has established a support telephone line for trans and non-binary people. Transgender and non-binary people who have been subjected to intimate partner violence and sexual assault can call this support line. 

The new national strategy against violent extremism and terrorism (Govt Communication 2023/24:56) sets out the direction for ongoing efforts against hate crime, including homo- and transphobic hate crime. The strategy states that the Swedish Police Authority needs to continue to develop its efforts to investigate and prosecute people for hate crimes and other offences that threaten democracy and that the Swedish Police Authority and other authorities need to develop their efforts against IT-related hate crime and other offences that threaten democracy.

At the same time as the strategy was adopted, an assignment was also given to the Swedish Police Authority, the Swedish Security Service, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention to incorporate the strategy into the authorities’ activities and to ensure that their work is carried out in line with this direction. 

The Swedish Police Authority is tasked with reporting how information to crime victims has been improved, which is an important element in strengthening efforts against all crime, including hate crime. 

The Swedish Prosecution Authority continuously takes measures to improve the quality of its efforts against hate crime, including through its work with a specially appointed hate-crime expert working to raise knowledge levels among operational prosecutors.

Every two years, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention publishes a report with statistics on police reports with hate crime motives. The statistics are based on reports that the police have labelled as hate crimes and where the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention has identified a hate crime motive. The statistics outline the proportion and nature of LGBTIQ-related hate crimes.

On 14 March 2024, the Government adopted the bill “A clearer provision on agitation against a population group”. In the bill the Government proposes that the provisions on agitation against a population group in the Freedom of the Press Act and in the Criminal Code shall be clarified and that the scope of application shall be expanded to some extent. One of the proposals is that individuals within a certain population group may be regarded as victims of “agitation against a population group’’ and hence entitled to compensation. The proposed amendments in the Criminal Code are expected to enter into force on 1 July 2024. The proposed amendments in the Freedom of the Press Act are expected to enter into force on 1 January 2027.

Working life

In 2022, the Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise was tasked with collecting and compiling knowledge about LGBTIQ people’s organisational and social work environment, with particular focus on transgender people’s organisational and social work environment. This compiled information should be disseminated so that it can be put to use in practice and provide support for employers, safety representatives and other elected representatives in workplaces. 

Young LGBTIQ people

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society is tasked with strengthening the conditions for creating and maintaining physical and digital meeting places for young LGBTIQ people, both by surveying current meeting places and by implementing skills training for various actors at municipal level. 

Every year, the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society distributes government grants in accordance with the Ordinance on government grants to initiatives that promote meeting places for young LGBTIQ people.

Since 2014, the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society has been tasked with carrying out measures to promote an open and inclusive school environment for young LGBTIQ people. The assignment has resulted in the education package ‘Öppna skolan’ (‘Open school’), which consists of four web-based courses aimed at school staff, pupils and custodial parents. 

Older LGBTIQ people

The Public Health Agency of Sweden is tasked with taking measures to strengthen and develop efforts regarding the health and living conditions of older LGBTIQ people. The assignment includes monitoring knowledge in the area of ageing and the health of older LGBTIQ people through follow-up, in-depth analysis and knowledge dissemination. 

The National Board of Health and Welfare is tasked with strengthening LGBTIQ-related skills in the health and social care of elderly people. The authority will produce and disseminate awareness-raising material on LGBTIQ issues in connection with the health and social care of elderly people. 

Health, medical care and social services

The Public Health Agency of Sweden is tasked with compiling the state of knowledge and identifying knowledge gaps regarding equal opportunities for health and living conditions and habits among LGBTIQ people. The government agency will examine the underlying reasons for differences in conditions for health.

The National Board of Health and Welfare is tasked with carrying out an information campaign aimed at health and care professionals who meet people with gender dysphoria in their work. The aim is to improve the way people with gender dysphoria are treated in health care. The government agency will also develop the follow-up of transgender health care and propose a methodology for the long-term monitoring of the prescription of puberty-blocking and cross-sex pharmaceuticals for people with gender dysphoria. 

In 2020, the Public Health Agency of Sweden, on behalf of the government, presented a national strategy for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The strategy was complemented by an action plan in 2023. The strategy and the action plan highlight LGBTIQ people as a target group that needs to be given priority in national SRHR efforts, given that they generally have poorer conditions for good sexual and reproductive health than the rest of the population. The government has tasked the Public Health Agency of Sweden with carrying out efforts to help disseminate and implement the national strategy and action plan for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Every year, in accordance with the relevant ordinance, the National Board of Health and Welfare distributes government grants to municipalities and regions for measures to promote equal rights and equal opportunities regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Private and family life

In 2022, a proposal for consideration by the Council on Legislation – Förbättrade möjligheter att ändra kön (‘Improved opportunities to change gender’) – was adopted. In 2023, the government parties chose not to proceed with the proposals, as the parties had differing approaches to them. The parties agreed that each party would act according to their own positions in the Riksdag. The Parliamentary Committee on Health and Welfare subsequently submitted legislative proposals to the Riksdag, which voted in favour of the proposals. The legislative amendments will enter into force on 1 July 2025.

The Parliamentary Committee has addressed four announcements to the Government about the need for regulations, national knowledge support, prevention of criminal acts and monitoring of the application. The announcements are being processed by the Government Offices.

In 2023, the inquiry report Förstärkt skydd för den personliga integriteten – Behovet av åtgärder mot oskuldskontroller, oskuldsintyg och oskuldsingrepp samt omvändelseförsök (‘Stronger protection of personal integrity – the need for measures against virginity tests, certificates and procedures, and conversion attempts’) (SOU 2023:37) was presented. The Inquiry does not consider that a special regulation that criminalises ‘conversion attempts’ of LGBTIQ people should be introduced. The Inquiry has made the assessment that the current regulation provides adequate opportunities to take judicial action against conversion attempts and that a special criminal provision addressing this is unlikely to effectively strengthen protection against this type of act. The report has been referred for consultation and is now being processed in the Government Offices.

Cultural sector

In 2021, the National Historical Museums was tasked with preparing and implementing the establishment of the Swedish Holocaust Museum. The museum was established in 2022.

Swedish Holocaust Museum

Civil society

Every year, the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society distributes government grants in accordance with the Ordinance on government grants to organisations for homosexual, bisexual, transsexual people or people of transgender identity or expression.