Democracy and human rights
Human rights are universal and apply to everyone. They establish that all human beings, irrespective of country, culture and context, are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Democracy policy includes general elections, measures to strengthen and protect the individual’s opportunities for influence, and measures to promote and guarantee respect for human rights. Human rights, democracy and the rule of law will also permeate all Swedish foreign policy.
Link to Sweden's government website.
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Since 2018, the Government keeps a dialogue with the Swedish Sports Confederation on the situation of LGBTQI people and in particular transgender people in sport. The aim is to discuss how sport can counteract discrimination and increase the conditions for a more conscious norm-critical approach that identifies, problematizes and challenges stereotypes about men and women.
In recent years, the Swedish Sports Confederation has made a number of initiatives in this area. These are, for example, competence development initiatives to ensure that coaches, leaders and educators gain a basic understanding of norms, power and privileges.
The Swedish Sports Confederation also has ongoing work to review guidelines and recommendations. In September 2020, the Swedish Sports Confederation decided that the special sports federations can start from gender identity instead of legal gender when they must meet the gender equality requirement in boards and nomination committees.
Furthermore, the Swedish Sports Confederation has ongoing work to update instructions for children's and youth sports, where the aim is for the trans perspective to be included in a clearer way than before. The Swedish Sports Confederation also has an ongoing project in collaboration with RFSL on "Sports for all bodies", which aims to improve the opportunities for trans people to be a part of sports.
An inclusive sport is one of the focus areas in the sport's major strategy work called Strategy 2025. LGBTQ people are identified there as a group that does not always feel welcome in the sports environments. Clearer leadership, review of guidelines and recommendations and knowledge-raising initiatives are some identified components for sharpening the thresholds that exist today and ensuring inclusive environments for LGBTQ people.
Link to read more about the work with Riksidrottsförbundet.
Link to report on Swedish youth sports and LGBTI.
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RFSL (The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights) in collaboration with the Swedish Sports Confederation and specialist sports organisations, works for a trans-inclusive sports movement. The project focuses on policies, training and empowerment. The aim of the project Sports for all bodies (Idrott för alla kroppar) is to improve the possibility for trans people to be a part of sports. This is done by strengthening trans people and by developing policies and guidelines.
Link to read more about RFSL sport project Sports for all Bodies.
A recent report from RFSL, showed that trans people who want to do sports are limited by the fact that sports generally are gender-divided through regulations, changing rooms, jargon and norms. Many stop doing sports because of this, which inspired to especially focus on trans people in sports.
Link to the report: RFSL_rapport_Trans People & Sports_ENG.pdf
