Equality | The government just completed a new equality program – It promises support for Ukrainian women

Government posted on Friday afternoon his draft about the new equality program for the opinion round.

According to the draft, the government will support Ukraine and its reconstruction in such a way that the support “includes a gender perspective across the board”.

“Finland’s support in the reconstruction of Ukraine is significant. In a conflict situation, equality work has a special meaning. War and conflict often have a strong impact on women, girls and vulnerable people,” the draft says.

MTV news said earlier on Friday that Finland does not participate in the equality coalition related to the reconstruction of UkraineThe decision was made by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development of Basic Finns Ville Tavio in June. According to MTV, several official sources say that Tavio decided that Finland would stay out of the alliance because it is supposed to also promote the issue of gender and sexual minorities.

Prime minister Petteri Orpo (kok) commented on the matter on Friday by saying that Finland’s decision to leave Ukraine’s equality coalition does not change the government’s foreign policy line. The opposition party Sdp said on Friday that it would present a vote of no confidence in Minister Tavio.

Equality program the draft states that Finland will continue its “long-term human rights policy”. According to the draft, it means, among other things, the promotion and defense of the rights of women, girls, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and gender and sexual minorities, as well as other persons in a particularly vulnerable position.

According to the draft, the government intends to promote the position of gender and sexual minorities also in Nordic cooperation.

Finland will act as the chairman of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2025. The draft says that at that time a project will be implemented in the sector of the Equality and LGBTI Ministerial Council, the aim of which is to support the well-being of people belonging to gender and sexual minorities.

The draft lists 45 measures to promote equality. Sexual and gender minorities are not mentioned in these measures. The previous government of Sanna Marin (sd) emphasized the rights of gender minorities in its equality program, because it was preparing the so-called trans law, which was enacted at the end of the government term in 2023.

Government according to the draft, for example, intends to promote anonymous recruitment, increase the proportion of women in the management of state-owned companies and implement a three-pronged equal pay program.

The government wants to eradicate honor-related violence with many different means. The government has already brought to the parliament a motion on criminalizing the genital mutilation of girls and women more clearly than at present. The government also wants, for example, to find out the criminalization of coercive control, clarify the punishment of forced marriage in the Criminal Code and increase family places in shelters.

Compared to the equality program of the previous government, the draft emphasizes the position of boys and men more. Of the 45 detailed measures, several concern boys and men.

“Equality problems affecting men and boys and their connection to the marginalization of young men are investigated. Let’s take the necessary measures”, includes measure number 16, for example.

Many of the background factors of marginalization are more common among men than among women, the draft states. For example, in 2023, 78 percent of homeless people were men, and 80 percent of criminal law crimes had a male suspect.

“It is important to better understand why men and boys face a significant amount of violence, because no one should experience physical or mental freedom being violated,” the draft reads.