Pride shows us the direction, yet the journey continues.

Vaasa Pride Week is here! The Pride movement is more than just events: rainbow flags on the flagpoles of offices and businesses, social media posts about commitment to Pride values, parades in cities, colorful picnics, and selling rainbow trinkets in shops. The aim of the Pride movement is to enable equal rights for all, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Where have we started?

Let's pause to look at how gender and sexual minority rights in Finland have evolved from the 20th century to the present day. Non-heterosexuality and non-cisgender identities have been interpreted as abnormal, unnatural, a disease, and even criminal.

• Homosexual acts were punishable under criminal law until 1981.
• After the decriminalization of homosexual acts, incitement to homosexual acts was prohibited until 1999.
• Homosexuality has been considered a disease by the Finnish health care system since 1981.
• The disease classification of transgenderism was only abandoned in 2011.

Media imagery has long reproduced the heteronormative family model, leaving gender and sexual minorities invisible. Only in recent years has the diversity of sexuality, gender, and family relationships begun to appear in the media and become part of school curricula as neutral and factual information. As they grow up, children and young people need role models with whom they can identify—role models who show that their experiences are also valuable and accepted.

Where are we now?

Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited by law. Despite this, queer people do experience discrimination, for example, in finding a job, housing, or health care, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Discrimination manifests itself at an individual level, for example, as inappropriate slurs in the workplace, hate speech, harassment, or even violence. Discrimination is also embedded in structures; are teachers able to address bullying of queer children? Are health workers adequately trained on sexuality and gender diversity? Are queer people forced not to disclose themselves openly in order to avoid discrimination?

Legislation has gradually been made more equal for people from sexual minorities. For example, the Fertilization Act only later allowed same-sex couples and single mothers to use donors for infertility treatments. Over the years, registered partnership rights, such as intra-family adoption, were made possible. The equal marriage law came into force in 2017.

Where do we still need to go?

Discrimination against queer people is still visible in Finnish policymaking today. For example, heterosexual couples are entitled to financial aid when undergoing fertility treatments in private healthcare. Female couples or single mothers do not have this right. In the most recent example, a citizens' initiative to ban conversion therapy was collected and received the support of Parliament, but its promotion remains uncertain. The Student Union of the University of Vaasa has also signed the SETA ry's declaration to ban conversion therapy.

Even if we manage to build more equal legislation, the journey of the Pride movement is not complete. But social change does not happen through legislation alone—it starts with each of us. At an individual level, we can promote equality by tackling discrimination where we see it, listening to the experiences of queer people, and giving them space to be seen and heard on their own terms. We can examine our own attitudes and prejudices, learn to use inclusive language, and demand equality even in situations where it does not directly affect us. Everyone has a responsibility to build a world where everyone can be themselves—safely, visibly, and with dignity.

Pride is a promise—and a reminder

Pride is a stop on the road towards equality. It is a reminder that diversity is part of humanity, not an exception to it. We are only on the journey, and until everyone has the same right to a safe, visible, and valued life, the work is not done. So let's proudly raise the Pride flag—not just for public pressure or celebration, but also to remember to keep moving towards a more equal and just society. We will only be there when no one has to hide themselves.

Maaria Salminen

Board member responsible for social affairs, 2025