Estonia behaves Like A Super Informed Nation IN Dealing With LGBTQ

Baltic Pride parade through Tallinn's Old Town. June 10, 2023. Source: Siim Lõvi/ERR

 Aili Vahtla, ERR News

A recent event launching the development of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications' dedicated LGBT+ action plan was attended by representatives from everywhere from healthcare to youth work. Crucially, among the organizations represented were several of the LGBT+ community's own – and the ministry says they will continue to actively involve LGBT+ voices themselves throughout the action plan's development process.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM) action plan will address equal opportunities for LGBT+ people in four focus areas: security, education, health, and employment, with a special focus to be placed on trans individuals' well-being in particular.

Estonian Trans Alliance (ETÜ) cofounder Mel Zelmin told ERR News that community organizations represented at Tuesday's launch event included the ETÜ, the Estonian LGBT Association as well as Q-Space.

Taavi Koppel, an adviser at the MKM's Department of Equal Opportunities and Gender Equality, confirmed the same, highlighting that the Tallinn- and Narva-based Q-Space focuses more closely on Estonia's Russian-speaking LGBT+ residents.

"LGBT+ organizations have been involved with us through the process of drawing up the action plan," he said. "It is in cooperation with the Estonian LGBT Association and the ETÜ that we have chosen the focus areas of the action plan, discussed the process of creating the action plan as well as exchanged views."

Bringing various parties together

MKM spokespeople said that the goal of this week's event wasn't to bring together all of the country's LGBT+ organizations – explaining why the Tartu-based Peemot Center, among others, hadn't been invited to participate, as reported by ERR News Tuesday evening.

Rather, the goal was to bring together parties from various fields with a significant impact on the well-being of LGBT+ people in Estonia, from healthcare to youth work.

"We invited representatives of various organizations to join us that we saw as having a vital role in creating a more inclusive, equal, and safe society for LGBT+ people," Koppel said, noting that these included experts in health, employment, security, and education.

"Among those represented were the Estonian Association of Family Physicians (EPS), Tallinn University (TLÜ), the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), the Ministry of Justice, the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities (ELVL), Statistics Estonia and the Estonian Association of Youth Workers (ENK)," he listed.

The ministry adviser noted that this is just the start of a longer process that will continue through the delivery of the action plan by the end of 2024.

"We've designed this so that both LGBT+ people as well as other important parties will have the chance at several key junctures for their voices to be heard, thus developing the action plan together with us," Koppel explained.

These points are where LGBT+ people and other self-representative and community organizations, including smaller and regional ones, will be able to provide more feedback.

"For example, we're currently in talks with the organizers of this August's Tartu Pride regarding holding an event within the framework of Tartu Pride to gather input on the action plan," MKM spokespeople said.

Policy recommendations years in the works

A representative of the Estonian LGBT Association pointed out to ERR News on Thursday that the LGBT+ action plan has been among the organization's strategic advocacy directions.

The association has, in the culmination of a two-year process, drawn up its own dedicated action plan policy recommendations – published recently in a 21-page document (link in Estonian) – which they hope will provide significant input in the development of the LGBT+ action plan.

The end goal is a policy document drawn up in cooperation between the target group – including LGBT+ community-based groups and advocacy organizations – and various implementing institutions, they noted, adding that an effective action plan means being able to monitor its implementation and measure the results.

"One thing we took away from [Tuesday's] discussion is the fact that the well-being of LGBT+ people is significantly impacted by prevailing societal ignorance and the prejudices resulting from it," Koppel said, adding that this can lead to LGBT+ people not being safe in society.

"By working together, we can create a safer and more inclusive society for LGBT+ people," the ministry adviser underlined.

According to the MKM, the LGBT+ equal opportunities action plan is slated to be completed by the end of the year.