The Local Sweden

Sweden to stop calling transgender people 'mentally ill'

Sat, 28 Jan 2017 12:17:12 +0100

Transgender people will no longer be classified as “mentally ill” in Sweden, the country’s main national health authority has announced, in a decision widely criticised as overdue.

In Pictures: Stockholm's Historic Pride Party

Thu, 31 Jul 2014 12:13:00 +0200

With Stockholm's Pride Week in full swing, The Local's Rebecca Jacobs heads on down to the traditional Historic Party to take in the colours, Conchita, and the community.

Green Party ranked 'most gay friendly' in Sweden

Mon, 28 Jul 2014 14:40:00 +0200

The Green Party's views are 88.6 percent "LGBT-friendly", a Swedish LGBT rights group claimed on Monday, making the Greens the most gay-friendly of all Sweden's parliamentary parties.

Swedish gay rights group in gay marriage threat

Thu, 04 Jul 2013 18:19:00 +0200

The head of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL) has been threatened with lifetime imprisonment by a Pakistani court if the organization does not stop supporting the same-sex marriage involving a person of Pakistani origin.

Hate crime reports decrease in Sweden

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 12:25:00 +0200

Police reports of hate crimes have declined by six percent since 2008, according a new report from the Crime Prevention Council (Brottsförebyggande rådet, Brå).

Gay Ugandan couple to remain in Sweden

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:59:00 +0100

A couple who claimed to be the first Ugandan men to be legally married have learned they will be allowed to remain in Sweden after a flurry of death threats helped sway migration officials to drop a deportation order against one of them.

Swedish transgendereds battle for forced sterilization payouts

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:23:00 +0100

With transsexuals in Sweden now able to change gender legally without being sterilized, those who were forced to accept the procedure prior to a recent law change continue their fight for compensation from the state.

Ugandans' gay wedding 'first' highlights Sweden asylum lottery

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:28:00 +0100

A couple who claim to be the first Ugandan men to be legally married face an uncertain future after recently tying the knot in a Swedish church, with one facing possible deportation that the other fears could result in his husband's death.

The infected years: when HIV came to Sweden

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:10:00 +0100

As Sweden marks 30 years since the first case of AIDS was diagnosed in the country, The Local's Christine Demsteader learns how Swedes have been forced to face an uncomfortable reality about the stigma surrounding those who first tested positive for HIV.

Group demands payout for forced sterilizations

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:13:00 +0100

Swedish rights organization RFSL is demanding Sweden pay damages to sex change candidates forced by law to undergo sterilization in order to qualify for gender corrective surgery.

Sweden keeps sex-change sterilization law

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:37:00 +0100

A move to scrap Swedish laws requiring compulsory sterilization for people undergoing gender reassignment surgery has been put on ice following opposition from the Christian Democrats.

Breast implants 'save lives': advocacy group

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:24:00 +0100

Transgender people in Sweden who are denied breast implants are more likely to commit suicide, according to an advocacy group which has urged health authorities to draw up national guidelines on the procedure.

Swedish lesbians more keen to wed: study

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:48:00 +0200

More Swedish lesbians than gay men have taken advantage of rules allowing same-sex couple's to get married, new statistics show.

'Antiquated' sex op laws must change: report

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:04:00 +0200

The Swedish Health and Welfare Board (Socialstyrelsen) has called for an end to the requirement that all those seeking to change gender must be single and sterilised in a new report which argues that existing legislation is out of date.

Hate cleric will not participate in Swedish conference

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 11:57:00 +0200

US-born Muslim preacher Abdullah Hakim Quick, who has described Jews as "filthy" and advocates the execution of homosexuals, will not be participating in a Swedish young Muslim conference he was scheduled to speak at over Easter weekend.

Gay-hate imam to speak at Swedish conference

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:52:00 +0100

An organisation for young Muslims in Sweden has outraged the country's largest gay rights group by inviting an imam in favour of executing homosexuals to speak at its April conference.

Swedish papers say no to 'lesbian love' advert

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:44:00 +0100

An advertisement featuring three half-naked women was deemed inappropriate for publication by two newspapers in southern Sweden, shocking officials at the sexual health organization who created the ad.

Transgender belly dancer helps launch Arab gay initiative

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:52:00 +0200

As a human rights group publishes details of a bloody campaign of hate being waged against gays in Iraq, Rami Abdelrahman speaks to members of a recently founded initiative for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Arabs in Sweden.

Sex change ops under review in Sweden

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:19:00 +0200

The Swedish Board for Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) has launched a review of the healthcare alternatives available to transsexuals seeking to change gender.

Gay rights group riled by tampon makers' sex ed books

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:25:00 +0100

The youth arm of Sweden's largest gay rights group has expressed fury at educational material distributed by two major tampon manufacturers.