A new plan aimed at promoting equal opportunities for sexual minorities and people with gender identities that differ from traditional norms was unveiled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications this week.
According to Taavi Talupuu, equal opportunities adviser at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM), the first priority is to collect data and then use it to determine the next steps. Last year, for example, questions concerning the LGBT+ community were added to Estonia’s social survey.
Talupuu said these questions make it possible to assess how LGBT+ people are doing, including issues related to deprivation as well as housing and income.
“This gives us an opportunity to see how LGBT+ people are doing compared with other groups because we have significant data gaps in areas where we do not know exactly what the situation is. These measures are extremely important to ensure that all services are more clearly supportive of people in the future,” Talupuu said.
One of the action plan’s priorities is training specialists who work with sexual minorities and people with gender identities that differ from traditional norms. The goal is to create a safe and supportive environment while also increasing awareness of specific needs across different areas of life.
According to Talupuu, alongside training, communication is also important — providing clear information that staff have been trained and that everyone is welcome.
“Otherwise, in the case of victim support services, for example, LGBT+ people may not be certain what attitude the person providing the service will have toward them and they may fear being retraumatized. That is why it is very important for these services to clearly state that they are intended for LGBT+ people as well, just like they are for all of us, and that service providers are aware of the different issues involved,” he said.
Keio Soomelt, a team member of the Estonian LGBT Association, said the creation and implementation of the action plan is a major step forward both for the community and for society as a whole.
“One thing is simply talking for years about what could be done or should be done. Another is having these things formally established and accepted. That provides a great deal more certainty and security for our community, but in reality, the benefits extend much more broadly across society,” Soomelt said.
Although the plan focuses on LGBT+ issues, Soomelt said it is also connected to broader questions of safety, human rights and consideration for others.
“Society is only as strong as each of its individual members,” he said.
Of all the action areas, Soomelt considers education the most important.
“That includes both creating a safe environment in the classroom and training teachers and school operators so that they have the skills and ability to create that safe environment in schools,” he explained.
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