Date: Sun, 23 Jan 1994 19:13:21 EST From: Lewis Taylor Subject: News from Swedish Gay/Lesbian Politics, no. 2, 1994 News from Swedish gay/lesbian politics Published by the Swedish Federation for Gay and Lesbian Rights (RFSL), P.O.Box 350, S-101 26 STOCKHOLM, Sweden. Phone +46-8-736 02 13. Fax +46-8-30 47 30 No. 2/94 (January 10th-16th, 1994) 1 The Social Insurance Office changes its practice? The Social Insurance Office has disbursed temporary parental benefit to a lesbian cohabitant. According to the National Social Insurance Act a parent may stay home with payment from the Social Insurance Office to take care of a sick child. This right can be transferred to a cohabitant of the opposite sex, even if the cohabitant is not a parent of the child. However, a cohabitant of the same sex as the parent may not stay home to take care of a sick child. The Social Insurance Office at Bjoerkhagen, Stockholm, has now disbursed temporary parental benefit for care of a sick child to a female cohabitant to the child's mother. As far as is known, this is the first case where a homosexual cohabitant has been allowed temporary parental benefit for care of a sick child. 2 "Dagen lies" Tobias Wikstroem, chairperson of the RFSL, has responded to Olof Djurfeldt's editorial in the Christian daily Dagen (see News from Swedish gay/lesbian politics 1/94). This was done in Dagen on January 14th: "Dagen's editor-in-chief Olof Djurfeldt assumes in his editorial on January 8th that I want to stop papers that agitate against gay men and lesbians and that I thereby include Dagen. This time, however, I did not refer to Dagen. In Aftonbladet I have stated that 'papers that agitate against gay men and lesbians must be stopped'. I referred to publications that encourage violence against gay men and lesbians, e.g. 'Siege - for increased violence against homosexuals'. The current possibility to sentence publishers of already published products that agitate against groups should apply also to those who agitate against gay men and lesbians." In the article, Wikstroem gave examples of "lies" that Dagen has published. Olof Djurfeldt responded in an editorial in the same issue: "Tobias Wikstroem, chairperson of the RFSL, has in the daily Expressen accused Dagen of systematically spreading lies about homosexuals. Now he tries to prove those accusations - with meagre results, however. Systematically lying means consciously and unrepentant using false information. Dagen has definitely not done so. Nor are we afraid of serious factual information." Djurfeldt admitted that two of Wikstroem's examples are correct. "But besides this, Wikstroem's examples have to do with sound judgement. Our reporter described on September 11th 1993 that the Reporter periodical is filled with pornography - that was his sincere opinion after having seen its sexually provoking pictures. Wikstroem's statement that Dagen is lying does not prove anything." "It cannot be a lie to say that promiscuity is in focus in the RFSL. The invitation to the 'safe sex party' that Dagen wrote about in August 1992 is a clear evidence. As long as the RFSL encourages 'sex wherever we want, whenever we want and with whoever we want', the organization is not credible." On January 15th Olof Djurfeldt wrote in Dagen: "When many politically active people doggedly fight for a partnership reform, some of them probably have a conviction that the reform would benefit the society, if the homosexual cohabitation in this way is recognized. By supporting stable relationships, the spread of aids would be counteracted. But the RFSL has no ideal of monogamy. The organization only works for 'safe sex' and accepts promiscuity." 3 Answer to Bo Pax G:son Bo Goeransson, using the pen-name Bo Pax G:son, who has taken offence at homosexuals in the daily Norra Skaane (see News from Swedish gay/lesbian politics 45/93) has now been criticized by Haakan Andersson of the RFSL (Norra Skaane, January 11th): "G:son's article is one of the most prejudiced articles about gay men and lesbians that has been published for a long time. Thank God the knowledge about homosexuality has increased during recent years. Apparently this is knowledge that has passed G:son by. Therefore I have to correct some of G:son's worst blunders." "In the RFSL there are men and women, young people and old people, Christians and atheists etc., to cut it short, an average of Sweden's population. The view of our members on fidelity, stable relationships and promiscuity varies. The RFSL works for the right of people to choose how they want to live. G:son's statement that we promote promiscuity is therefore not true. G:son is also probably the only one that has not grasped that the RFSL works for partnership." Bo Goeransson's article was also published in the daily Skaanska Dagbladet on January 10th. 4 The partnership on review The report of the Partnership Commission (see News from Swedish gay/lesbian politics 39/93) has been sent for review. The review period lasts until March 15th, 1994. The following reviewing bodies have been chosen by the Ministry of Justice: Scania and Blekinge Court of Appeal, the Stockholm Administrative Court of Appeal, the County Administrative Courts of Uppsala and Malmoehus. The National Courts Administration, the Data Inspection Board, the National Board of Health and Welfare, the National Institute of Public Health, the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman, the Office of the Children's Ombudsman, the National Board for Intercountry Adoptions, the Financial Supervisory Authority, the National Tax Board, Statistics Sweden, the Swedish Immigration Board, the Office of the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination, the Patent and Registration Office, the National Judicial Board for Public Lands and Funds. The Boards of the Faculty of Law at the University of Uppsala and the University of Lund. The Swedish Association of Local Authorities, the Federation of County Councils. The Archbishop, the Catholic Episcopate, the Central Board of the Church of Sweden, the Cooperation Group of Non-Conformist Churches. The Swedish Bar Association, the Swedish Judges Association, the Association of Jurists at public law-service offices. The Swedish Bank Association, the Swedish Insurance Association, the Insurance Law Association. The Swedish Medical Association, the Swedish Psychologists Association, the Swedish Association for Sexual Information. The RFSL, the Ecumenical Group for Christian Gay Men and Lesbians. The Adoption Centre, the Association of Local Government Family Advisors, the Children's Rights Association, the Funeral Society Fonus. 5 No news in the Budget Bill for 1994/95 In the Budget Bill, that was submitted to the Parliament on January 10th, there are no changes in the allowance to gay and lesbian organizations or the allowance to AIDS prevention. The allowance to gay and lesbian organization has not been commented in the Budget Bill, but is included in the total sum of 160 million crowns that is allocated to the National Institute of Public Health. With reference to the declared ambition of the Institute to change unconditioned grants to conditioned ones, the Government writes: "Furthermore, the Government regards it important in principle that agreements are reached with the organizations that are supported by the National Institute of Public Health, in accordance with what the Institute proposes. However, it may be necessary that a certain unconditioned support is kept in order to maintain the popular character and the independence of the organizations. If the organizations would only receive conditioned grants, a contract relationship would arise." Thereby it should be clear that the Government wants the grants to the gay and lesbian organizations to be unconditional also in the future. The Government thus opposes the intentions of the National Institute of Public Health. The Government also proposes that the allowance to HIV prevention remain unchanged, i.e. 185 million crowns for the fiscal year of 1994/95. The Government writes that "many interest organizations make important contributions. The support to the work of the organizations should continue during the fiscal year of 1994/95." The periodic publications of RFSL Kom Ut (in Swedish): 6 issues a year. Subscription 150 SEK a year. Fakta fraan RFSL (in Swedish): Approximately ten fact sheets that are updated regularly. Subscription 200 SEK per ten mailings. News from Swedish gay/lesbian politics (in Swedish and English): 52 issues a year. Subscription 180 SEK a year or 30 international reply coupons. Hivbladet (in Swedish): 12 issues a year. Free of charge. Membership in the RFSL: 160-250 SEK a year, depending on what local branch is chosen. Includes subscription of Kom Ut.