Minorities | The ban on ablation treatments annoys the coalition, which previously said it was against the treatments

Coalition as a party, wants to ban “reintegration treatments” for sexual minorities. In Parliament, however, the coalition is now blocking the progress of the law project on the ban.

It is about a citizen’s initiative currently under consideration by the parliament, whose more than 52,000 signatories want the so-called integration treatments to be banned by law.

Degradation treatments refer to psychological methods that try to change representatives of sexual minorities into heterosexuals. Gender minorities are also tried to change with treatments.

The Parliament’s legal committee is proposing the rejection of the citizens’ initiative, according to the draft report seen by HS. However, the committee’s report is intended to include a proposal for a statement on the investigation of the matter. Originally, the fate of the citizens’ initiative was supposed to be decided on Wednesday, but on Tuesday afternoon the agenda was changed so that the general discussion on the matter will continue on Wednesday.

Draft report according to the citizens’ initiative or the committee’s expert consultations, it is not possible to get “a clear and comprehensive picture of the manifestations, prevalence, implementers, victims, qualities and quantities of the rehabilitation treatments referred to in the citizens’ initiative in Finland”.

“There is otherwise no reliable research data on the matter. There is also no comprehensive survey of the extent to which the current provisions of the Criminal Code are already applicable to the rehabilitation treatments referred to in the initiative, and whether they involve such reprehensible forms of conduct for which the current provisions of the Criminal Code are not applicable,” the draft report explains.

According to the draft, more information should be obtained on these issues so that the clarity and adequacy of the current regulation can be assessed, as well as whether it is necessary to take measures to ban deconsolidation treatments.

However, in the statement of the Finnish Psychiatric Association related to the citizens’ initiative, it is stated that there is increasing research evidence on the subject, according to which exposure to “integrity” is harmful to a person’s mental health and causes suffering.

The EU Parliament has called on member states to ban deconstruction treatments, and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) has assessed that deconstruction fulfills the characteristics of torture, the Finnish Psychiatric Association points out.

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“We have to remember that we work together as a government here.”

The Prime Minister’s Party the coalition outlined at its party meeting in July that consolidating treatments should be prohibited by law.

Despite this, the coalition members of the legal committee Aleksi Jäntti, Mari Kaunistola, Pihla Keto-Huovinen and Susanne Päivärinta are of the committee at the June meeting supported the preparation of the report in such a way that the citizen’s initiative’s proposal to take legal preparation measures is rejected.

“Now is the time to make a change, and if in so many countries it has been possible to intervene legally, then if there is a will, then in Finland we can find the means for this”, for example Päivärinta comments on the citizens’ initiative in a public hearing still in February.

Päivrinnan according to the decision to be made now is not about burying the initiative, but about what is the best course of action in this situation.

“Myself, I no longer need an explanation of the extent of the phenomenon, because it is undeniable that it occurs in Finland,” Päivärinta commented on the matter in a message.

In his opinion, it is essential to find out what is the most effective method or methods for combating harmful integration treatments.

“The Legal Committee asked the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health for more information about the legal situation in other countries. The report we received shows varying practices in different countries”, Päivärinta justifies the need for further investigation.

According to him, it is possible that fragmentation can also be combated with measures other than passing a separate law.

The coalition According to Jänt, the issue is also influenced by the joint government policy.

“The coalition definitely wants to take the matter forward. But when we come to what is the position of the governing parties, we have to remember that we are working together as a government here,” states Jäntti.

Parliament discussed the citizens’ initiative in referral discussion last November. Representatives of the Christian Democrats and Basic Finns considered the ban on integration treatments problematic from the governing parties. The representatives of the coalition, on the other hand, spoke about the harmfulness of deconsolidation treatments and supported a ban.

Jäntti estimates that the ministries do not have time to prepare very many legal projects coming from outside the government program.

According to Jänt, it could possibly be included in the program of the next government. The next parliamentary elections will be held in 2027.

“Personally, I have nothing against the matter moving forward already in this government term, but it is not up to my will,” says Jäntti.

Of the governing parties representing Rkp in the legal committee by Eva Biaudet according to Rkp supports the proposal of the citizens’ initiative to take legislative measures.

In June, the center of the opposition parties was on the lines of the coalition, the Basic Finns and the Christian Democrats.

The other opposition parties Sdp, the Greens and the Left Alliance, like the Rkp, would be ready to call on the Ministry of Justice to start preparing a law to ban consolidating treatments and intend to present it on Wednesday as well.

Sdp’s Elisa Gebhardt does not buy the argument that banning consolidation treatments would require further clarifications.

“Of course, the regulation must be clear and precise, but ensuring it is part of the normal legislative process. Why wouldn’t passing a law be possible in Finland, when so many other countries have been able to do it”, Gebhard asks.

He reminds that defragmentation activities are restricted by law in at least 14 countries, in the Nordic countries both Iceland and Norway have banned the activity by law. In addition, the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner and the European Committee against Racism and Intolerance have called on the member states of the Council of Europe to prohibit defragmentation through legislation.

“Several expert bodies have stated that defragmentation has clear negative effects on the mental health of the people it targets. We have a special need to protect minorities who are underdogs in such activities. In some cases, the destruction also affects children and young people, which is a particularly damaging thing,” states Gebhard.

Ramble in line with Gebhard are also those of the greens Alviina Alametsä and the Left Alliance Jessi Jokelainen.

“There is no reason to further clarify the matter other than as part of the law preparation process. Disintegration treatments are psychologically very traumatizing and they cause long-term harm to people. They should be stopped as quickly as possible,” Alametsä states.