| Annual report 2011 by the Ombudsman for Equality has been published in English as an electrical book and a printable pdf. |
|
The Ombudsman for Equality gave a speech at the European Parliament's LGBT Intergroup's seminar on 26 September about legislative challenges concerning the legal status of trans and intersex people.
- It is very important that EU legislation would come to include specific provisions that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. The legal status of trans and intersex people can to a certain extent be protected through interpretations of current legislation and case law. It would, however, be a vast improvement to their legal protection, if specific prohibitions of discrimination concerning them would be included in EU law, the Ombudsman stressed.The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has
launched an EU-wide LGBT survey to support equal treatment
legislation and policy making, with a questionnaire that is
available online and awaits the opinions of lesbian, gay, bisexual
and trans people over the age of 18 living in the European Union or
Croatia. There is very little comparable data collected across the
EU about the everyday experiences of LGBT people with respect of
discrimination. Based on the survey results, national and European
policy makers, as well as non-governmental organisations, will be
able to better target their advocacy strategies and activities to
support LGBT communities to live and express themselves freely in a
non-discriminatory environment.
To take the survey, follow the link:
www.lgbtsurvey.eu
According to a report commissioned by the Ombudsman for Equality,
gender minorities are an invisible quantity in Finnish society,
legislation and official practices. Gender minorities are not even
specifically mentioned in anti-discrimination legislation. Various
officials and organisations representing gender minorities were
interviewed for the report.
Office of the Ombudsman for Equality - Meritullinkatu 1, Helsinki - PO Box 33, FIN-00023 Government, Finland - Telephone (+358) 0295 16001 - Telefax (+358) 9 698 1180