Response to interpellation 2022/23:120 on the protection of cultural practitioners who are LGBTQ+
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 M considers the equal rights of LGBTQI people to be an important issue and that the government wants to strengthen protection by increasing the number of strategic agencies 1 2. 1 M emphasizes that the principle of arm's length distance is central 1. 2 M argues that the government has allocated 10 million SEK for work on equal rights 2. 3 M argues that the government stands behind the equal rights and opportunities of LGBTQI people 3. 3 M considers that threats and hate can never be accepted and that the government will stand up for the principle of arm's length distance 3. 4 M argues that the government has already taken steps in the 2023 budget to strengthen the protection of LGBTQI people 4. 5 S considers that the government is not taking sufficient measures and criticizes the government base for limiting the room for maneuver for LGBTQ+ people 5 6. 7 S criticizes that a Moderate chairman in the regional board stopped a Lucia parade because of a non-binary Lucia 7. 6 S argues that the Sweden Democrats are waging a culture war against LGBTQ+ communities 6. 8 S considers that the rights of LGBTQ+ people risk echoing emptily as long as the Sweden Democrats set the policy for the government 8. S argues that the rights and free cultural space of LGBTQ+ people are threatened by the largest party in the government base. S considers that the Sweden Democrats constitute one of the greatest threats to people's right to live free lives and that the government needs to show decisiveness.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! Daniel Vencu Velasquez Castro has asked me how the government intends to strengthen the protection for LGBTQ+ persons who are cultural actors and if I, as Minister for Culture, intend to take further measures to ensure that LGBTQ+ persons' activities are safe.
Initially, I want to emphasize that the equal rights and opportunities of LGBTQI persons is a very important issue for this government. In Sweden, one should have every right to be who one is and also to love whom one wants. Not to be subjected to discrimination is a human right. Prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity – or those types of discrimination grounds – is regulated in the Discrimination Act (2008:567). The Equality Ombudsman supervises that the law is followed.
The national cultural policy goals state that culture shall be a dynamic, challenging and unbound force with freedom of expression as its foundation. The goals also emphasize that everyone shall have the opportunity to participate in cultural life. A number of agencies within the cultural field have today specific mandates that shall contribute to promoting the freedom of art and participation in cultural life. One example of this is the Swedish Arts Council, which shall draw attention to artists' vulnerability to threats, violence and harassment. I also want to highlight that the Swedish Arts Council is one of the strategic agencies that in the hbtqi area has been designated to constitute a unifying force for increased knowledge and equal treatment, and that the agency, according to its instructions, has the task within its area of operation to also promote equal rights and opportunities regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
As I did in my previous answer to a question from the member (Strengthened protection for cultural actors who are LGBTQ+, 2022/23:68), I also want to emphasize that the principle of arm's length distance is central to the government's cultural policy. This is evident from both the government bill and the Tidö Agreement, and also from the previous debate here today. For me as Minister for Culture, it is important to continue working both for the protection of that principle and for everyone's equal opportunities to participate in cultural life.
Daniel Vencu Velasquez Castro (S)
Madam Speaker! I would first and foremost like to thank you for the answer from the Minister for Culture, but I regret that the answer does not differ from the one I received on my written question. When I posed my question, we were in a different situation, where the story hours were threatened with closure in Kalmar and where library staff had been threatened in Malmö after a story hour conducted with drag queens.
Since then, the Sweden Democrats in Trelleborg have tried to stop the story hour in the municipality, and during the Lucia celebration in Bollnäs, a Lucia procession was stopped by the Sweden Democrats because the person who was Lucia identified as non-binary.
I wish that we lived in a society where people's sexual orientation, gender or appearance played no role. What I wish for most of all is a society where the mere existence and presence of hbtq-plus persons does not cause offense, as the offense in turn leads to them being restricted in their room for maneuver. But that is obviously not the case in Sweden today.
We are in a situation where it is not some obscure movement that is pushing against cultural actors who are LGBTQ+, but rather Sweden's second-largest party - and the government's largest party - that is doing this. It is highly serious. I do not believe that the Minister for Culture realizes the seriousness of this. Or perhaps the Minister for Culture does, and then this speaks to how important these issues are for the government.
In his reply to me, the Minister for Culture argues that no one should be discriminated against in Sweden - which is very true. The Minister also mentioned the Discrimination Act. But it is not any party in the opposition that has threatened the Discrimination Act. It is rather the chairman of the Committee on Justice, Richard Jomshof, who has said that they want to abolish the Discrimination Act. It is therefore no one in the opposition who opposes it, but rather the largest party in the government support.
The Minister also refers to the Swedish Arts Council's mandate to increase knowledge about the vulnerability of, among others, LGBTQ+ persons in a unifying way and in such a way to prevent this from happening. Trelleborg, Kalmar, Bollnäs, Malmö and Olofström have all been subjected to the Sweden Democrats' antics. How much more knowledge does the Minister need? It is obvious to me and other LGBTQ+ persons in Sweden that cultural actors who are LGBTQ+ are particularly vulnerable to the government's coalition partner, the Sweden Democrats.
Time and again, the Sweden Democrats present proposals and test ideas that restrict people's rights, based solely on misconceptions about, for example, LGBTQ+ people that circulate in far-right circles.
We heard Jonas Andersson say just recently that children are being forced into sexual occurrences during these story times. But the only ones who are sexualizing the story times are the Sweden Democrats.
Now this will have real consequences. Sweden is not as free today. LGBTQ+ people do not feel protected. We need, especially now, to stand guard over values that we have taken for granted and which I believe the Minister for Culture also stands up for. It is worrying that the Minister and the government do not intend to take any further measures to strengthen the protection for LGBTQ+ people and that, in addition, they are downplaying the threats that have arrived.
That is why I ask again if the Minister intends to take any further measures to strengthen the protection for LGBTQ+ persons who are cultural workers. Or will the government and the Minister watch while the Sweden Democrats push on?
Kristoffer Lindberg (S)
Madam Speaker! It is exactly as the interpellor has stated in their interpellation: Authoritarian and anti-democratic forces are growing in several places around the world. In the wake of this, dark shadows of discrimination are also cast against hbtqi-plus persons, people who deviate from what others see as normalizing. This development becomes particularly serious when these tendencies are expressed in the words and actions of elected political representatives.
I am happy to speak with a loud voice and a straight back about the fact that I come from Bollnäs, in the heart of Hälsingland. But what I want to convey now, Madam Speaker, makes me, as a resident of Bollnäs, feel ashamed.
About a month ago, the regional council in Gävleborg was scheduled to meet at Bollnäs folkhögskola. The music line at the school was to arrange its Lucia celebration, as is done every year for the elected politicians. Shortly before the performance, the students were informed that the newly elected Sverigedemokratiska chairman of the regional council had decided to stop this year's Lucia celebration, and the students were not allowed into the council chamber.
This naturally raised great wonder as to what prompted the actions. Unfortunately, the same Sweden Democrat chairman refused the opposition to even pose questions to the presidium regarding what happened to the Lucia parade. To deny the opposition the right to ask questions is remarkable in itself, but what should make the hair stand on end for all of us is what has emerged later. The reason the students were not allowed into the hall was that the Lucia parade, according to the Sweden Democrats, did not meet the requirements for how a Lucia parade should be, as the proclaimed Lucia, who is non-binary, broke the traditional gender norm.
That elected officials discriminate against people based on gender identity or expression is serious and, on several levels, the opposite of a democratic, free and open society.
Given that this government governs only with the Sverigedemokraternas good grace, it also raises questions about what the government's and Sverigedemokraternas policy for hbtqi-plus persons' rights looks like.
I have previously raised this issue to the Minister in a written question, but the Minister did not quite answer the questions I asked at that time. Therefore, I want the Minister to answer here today.
Does the Minister share the same view on LGBTQI+ persons as the Minister's allies do? If she does not, which I hope, what does the Minister then intend to do to secure LGBTQI+ persons' rights and to prevent discrimination of people who break traditional norms in both cultural practice and in society at large?
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! Let me be very clear. It is extremely regrettable that cultural events are being cancelled due to threats, hate, and discrimination. It is not compatible with the national cultural policy goals that have been established here in the Riksdag and which emphasize precisely that culture should be dynamic, challenging, and unbound.
The government made decisions regarding the regulatory letters in December. In them, we also gave an additional assignment to increase the number of LGBTQI-strategic agencies, and Forum för levande historia is now included there as well. It is an agency that falls within my area of responsibility, and with it, there are now twelve strategic agencies in the LGBTQI area that have a special mandate to work with these issues. I think that is a clear signal of how this government stands guard over the importance of us being equal in society regardless of who and what we are.
Equal rights and opportunities for LGBTQI people is an important issue for this government. In addition to the example I gave earlier, Forum för levande historia, we have also included 10 million kronor in the budget bill for 2023 for work for equal rights and opportunities for LGBTQI people. This addition of 10 million kronor is also expected to remain in 2024. These funds are intended to be able to complete ongoing initiatives but naturally also to enable new ones.
I really want to take this opportunity to point out and emphasize that this is an important issue for me and for the government, not only so that we can have a country that stands on the foundations of democracy, but where equal rights and opportunities actually get to be a principle that we do not need to question and that we, hopefully, will not have to debate at all in the future.
With this position, I hope that I have answered the questions more clearly.
Daniel Vencu Velasquez Castro (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer, but I am still not satisfied. If we talk about the principle of arm's-length distance, the government means that the Tidö Agreement establishes that one upholds the principle of arm's-length distance. But this arm can be of different lengths at times. It is very short in Municipal Sweden, where the Sverigedemokraterna can step in and tinker with which activities one is allowed to have. But it is very long when it comes to how we can further protect LGBTQ+ people who are in an extremely vulnerable position right now. It is something that I think the government should consider. If a principle is to be upheld, it must be done all the time. Here, the government needs to show decisiveness and guarantee culture's free space and not uphold the principle only when it benefits the government cooperation.
Hbt-liberals are speaking today in Aftonbladet debate and demand answers from the Sverigedemokraterna on where they stand on the issue of hbtq-plus persons' rights. The question is justified, but it should also be directed at the government.
I want to clarify that I do not believe that Liberals and Moderates are hostile towards LGBTQ+ people. But the Liberals and Moderates have sat in the lap of a party that has, to the highest degree, shown that they are. In that case, it is reasonable that the government clearly shows where it stands, not through writings or in answers to me, but in action.
During the autumn, we have received various Sweden Democrat statements such as: Children should not have to endure your sexual orientations. This was stated when Drag Queen Story Hour was discussed. Children shall therefore not have to endure homosexual, bisexual or trans people. It is remarkable.
Does the Minister not experience these to be serious statements from leading representatives in the government base? The Sweden Democrats are now waging a culture war against LGBTQ+ communities, where Drag Queen Story Hour has merely become a victim in the ongoing battle. Why does the government allow the Sweden Democrats to make this a major political fight? Take a stand and condemn much more clearly the actions that have been taken by the Sweden Democrats in local municipalities! Join us in the fact that in Sweden it does not matter what one identifies as or who one loves. One is allowed to be a drag queen and read stories to children. We can join forces by letting all children have the conditions to develop into free and thinking people with the security that we adults stand on their side.
If a drag queen can make two out of ten children feel the courage not to live in denial or in hiding as a result of sexual orientation or gender identity, is this then not worth it? Just today, it was reported that a 13-year-old boy in France took his own life as a result of homophobic bullying.
It is still more worth doing things together with us than dancing to the Sweden Democrats' very out-of-tune pipe.
I hope that I can get a clearer answer from the Minister for Culture regarding what is intended to be done to take further measures to protect LGBTQ+ persons and, above all, cultural actors in this extremely serious situation.
Kristoffer Lindberg (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for a very good answer.
I naturally want to return home to Bollnäs and our fantastic folk high school. By this point, this incident has been reported in almost all national media. In my contacts with the folk high school, it is also confirmed that both students and teachers experience discomfort from this clear stance against people who break traditional norms.
The Minister of Culture's party colleague, the newly appointed Moderate chairman of the regional board, stated after the incident that he could not have any views on what grounds the chairman had for this position. It is a rather remarkable statement. Many of us have been concerned that this would be the new Moderate stance on the rights of hbtqi-plus persons. Therefore, I am very pleased that the Minister is clear today, and I truly want to thank the Minister for that.
But just as the interpellor states in their interpellation, it also becomes clear that the minister's words about defending the rights of LGBTQ+ persons risk echoing hollowly as long as it is the Sweden Democrats who set the actual policy for the government.
If the Minister means what she expresses, which I believe she does, what does the Minister then intend to do to manage the representatives in her own government base and secure the rights of hbtqi-plus persons and prevent elected politicians from discriminating against people who break traditional norms?
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! I know, honestly, not if I can be any clearer than I have been in this speaker's chair today. It is almost so that I sometimes wonder if the microphone has been on or not and if what I have said has been heard.
It is extremely important to emphasize that this government stands behind the equal rights and opportunities of LGBTQI people, and it is a matter of importance for the government. The initiatives that I mentioned earlier are initiatives that have been made in the budget bill for 2023. But they are naturally not the only initiatives, and we will continue to work on this issue.
The question concerning overall efforts for equal rights and opportunities for both LGBTQI persons and others, I must nevertheless refer to the Ministry of Employment and the responsible Minister Paulina Brandberg. It is she who has the overall responsibility, and I believe she would be pleased with a question that gave her the opportunity to account for the efforts being made in these issues within the framework of her ministry.
Regarding the cultural practitioners' ability to continue the democratic conversation and the possibility for hbtqi persons to continue practicing culture, I do not believe there is any longer any doubt, neither from this debate nor from the interpellation debates we had earlier. There are two principles here that are guiding: We will never accept threats and hate, and we will always stand up for the principle of arm's length distance. This applies to this government and to me as Minister for Culture, and we will do so absolutely regardless.
Daniel Vencu Velasquez Castro (S)
Madam Speaker! I also want to be clear: I do not doubt the liberals or the moderates – and I have also written that in my interpellations – but the Tidö Agreement's principle of arm's length distance and the rights of LGBTQ+ persons and free cultural space are being threatened by the largest party in the government base. It does not seem to be as important as, for example, the migration policy, where everything is done to ensure the agreement is upheld. It is something that the government should consider.
It is like this: In 2017, SD wanted the Church of Sweden to investigate what negative tendencies the pride movement has, with the argument that there is an explicit goal to educate children toward bisexuality and that it is happening on a broad front. In 2021, the Sverigedemokraterna abstained from voting on whether same-sex marriage should be recognized throughout the EU - and in 2022, the Sverigedemokraterna stopped storytime for children because they are led by drag queens.
This is not a new phenomenon; this is how it has been worked year after year since one entered Swedish politics. Doesn't the minister see that hbtq-plus persons are particularly vulnerable by the Moderates' coalition party? Doesn't the minister think that additional measures are needed to strengthen the protection for cultural victims who are currently particularly vulnerable by – I repeat – the government's coalition party? It is therefore not about some obscure movement.
Library staff have been threatened, but Parisa Liljestrand thinks enough is being done even though she takes the issue seriously. SD cancels story times and Lucia processions, but Parisa Liljestrand thinks all Tidö parties safeguard the principle of arm's length distance and the rights of hbtq-plus persons. Cultural actors who are hbtq-plus testify to an increased threat. Now the government must wake up. Pardon the expression, but this is too bad! Now the government needs to answer. The safety of hbtq-plus persons is threatened. What does the government intend to do about the matter?
The Sweden Democrats constitute one of the greatest threats to people's right to live free lives. Outdated and conservative ideas that homosexuality and trans people are sexual deviations do not belong in Sweden. The government needs to show decisiveness.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! If I have not already been clear enough, I shall try to be now.
Heat and hatred can never be accepted. It does not belong in a democratic country, and it does not belong in Sweden. The member says that I live in another dimension where I say one thing and others say something else. I still think that in this interpellation debate I have given examples of the government's policy and that we have already in the budget for 2023 taken steps in the direction of strengthening hbtqi persons' protection and their right to live freely in Sweden. It is the first step that has been taken in a first budget at the beginning of a mandate period, and more will come. This is a prioritized issue for the government.
In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to thank both for the written question and for this interpellation debate, which Daniel Vencu Velasquez Castro has made possible. It is important to continue to highlight and make visible this issue. I absolutely believe that we will join hands, because there are no contradictions here, only opportunities. There are opportunities for all of us who live in Sweden to create a freer society together.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.