Peace and Hope for Pride

Throughout the month of June, we are celebrating International Pride Month. The theme of Helsinki Pride this year is ‘Peace and Hope’. We all have the right to peace. We all have the right to hope. They have been selected as this year’s theme for a good reason.

Everyone deserves to grow up to be who they are in peace. Peace is the right of all societies and of every individual. Despite this, gender and sexual minorities still do not enjoy the same peace as others.

Just like everyone else, people who belong to sexual and gender minorities must have the right to be proud of their body and identity in peace. Everyone has the right to be who they are – and love who they want – in peace. As authorities, we have to make sure there is no place for disrupting or questioning that peace.

And when peace cannot be taken for granted, we need hope. Hope gives us trust in the future and, above all, gives us the strength to pursue a more equal world where everyone has the rights they deserve. 

At a time when uncertainty and conflicts are affecting all of us, but especially those of us who are already vulnerable, the importance of human rights is even further emphasised. We can find hope in our communities, in other people. Pride Month and Pride Week give us an opportunity to create and sustain hope.

Peace and hope are born through action. Together, we can build peace and hope in our work communities. Our duty as authorities to promote gender equality and non-discrimination is also a duty to build peace and hope.

The Equality Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and gender expression. The Non-discrimination Act, for its part, obliges the authorities, education providers and employers to promote equality. All ministries are responsible for promoting gender equality and non-discrimination in our sectors. All of us.

Happy Pride Week, everyone! Let’s march together for a more equal Finland and celebrate our differences!

Sanni Grahn-Laasonen
Minister of Social Security, who is also responsible for matters related to equality