Conversion Therapy - Abuse in Violation of the Democracy Requirement

The party programme sees it as crucial to strengthen LGBTQIA+ people's rights when authoritarian forces attack them, and requires that everyone's opportunities to live good lives are defended every time anyone is shut out, whether it concerns transgender people or others. That state grants can be denied religious communities that conduct conversion therapy on adults follows from that, as does the requirement that the exercise of public power must be guided by the equal worth of all people.

• strengthened LGBTQIA+ rightsdecisive»Vi ser det som avgörande att stärka hbtqia+-personers rättigheter i en« (party programme ↗)“We see it as crucial to strengthen LGBTQIA+ people's rights in a”
• defend vulnerable groups»just den här gången handlar om sjukskrivna, muslimer eller transpersoner.« (party programme ↗)“this time concerns sick-listed people, Muslims or transgender people.”
• LGBTQI people's vulnerability»Och om du är en hbtqi-person är risken stor att trakasserier, hot, hat och våld blir en del av vardagen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“And if you are an LGBTQI person, the risk is great that harassment, threats, hate and violence become part of everyday life.”
• equal worth of all people»Den offentliga maktutövningen ska vägledas av alla människors lika« (party programme ↗)“The exercise of public power must be guided by the equal”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme establishes the goal of a society without homophobia and transphobia and demands a conscious struggle against all forms of domination and subjugation and oppressive norms. Conversion therapy against adults is such a violation, which is why the plan supports that the democracy requirement covers all conversion therapy regardless of the victim's age and thus grounds the rejection of state subsidies. The plan does not address the committee's assessment that a formal request to the government is not appropriate now.

• society without homophobia and transphobiadecisive»patriarkat, rasism eller homo- och transfobi« (party programme ↗)“patriarchy, racism or homophobia and transphobia”
• struggle against oppressive norms»Det kräver en medveten kamp också mot andra maktstrukturer och förtryckande normer.« (party programme ↗)“This requires a conscious struggle also against other power structures and oppressive norms.”
• all forms of subjugation»Jämlikhetspolitik måste riktas mot alla former av över- och underordning« (party programme ↗)“Equality policy must be directed against all forms of domination and subjugation”
• limited religious influence»Därför vill vi förbjuda nya religiösa friskolor.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“That is why we want to ban new religious independent schools.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan establishes that no one should be subjected to discrimination based on among other things faith or sexual orientation, that homophobia, biphobia and transphobia must not be tolerated anywhere and that religion can never be an excuse to limit others' freedoms and rights. Conversion therapy against adults is precisely such a violation, which is why the counter-proposal's demand that it constitute grounds for denying state subsidies follows from the plan. The plan does not, however, express itself on the formulation of the democracy condition, so the conclusion is derived.

• zero tolerance for LGBTQ phobiadecisive»Homo-, bi- och transfobi och sexism ska inte tolereras i skolan eller någon annanstans.« (party programme ↗)“Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia and sexism must not be tolerated in school or anywhere else.”
• religion does not justify violation»Religion kan heller aldrig vara en ursäkt för att begränsa andras friheter och rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“Religion can never be an excuse to limit others' freedoms and rights.”
• strengthened discrimination protection»stärka lagstiftningen mot diskriminering och se över rätten till rättshjälp i diskrimineringsfall.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen legislation against discrimination and review the right to legal aid in discrimination cases.”
• counteract all discrimination»Alla former av diskriminering ska motverkas.« (party programme ↗)“All forms of discrimination must be counteracted.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The ideology programme establishes that the party fights all structures that oppress or discriminate against people, explicitly regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, and the election manifesto wants to do more against discrimination and views restrictions on LGBTQ people's rights as an authoritarian threat. That state grants shall not go to activity that conducts conversion therapy against anyone, regardless of age, follows from this. The plan's no to restrictions on freedom of religion is a counterweight, but conditions for grants are not the same as bans on religious practice.

• fight oppressive structuresdecisive»Vi bekämpar alla strukturer, formella och informella, som förtrycker eller diskriminerar människor.« (party programme ↗)“We fight all structures, formal and informal, that oppress or discriminate against people.”
• strengthened work against discrimination»Mer måste göras mot diskriminering. Vi vill stärka myndigheternas arbete mot diskriminering och höja ersättningen till dem som utsatts, samt lägga till kön och funktionsnedsättning som hatbrottsgrunder.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More must be done against discrimination. We want to strengthen agencies' work against discrimination and increase compensation to those who have suffered it, as well as add gender and disability as hate crime grounds.”
• protect LGBTQ people's rights»I land efter land försöker auktoritära rörelser flytta fram positionerna, inskränka kvinnors, minoriteters och HBTQI-personers rättigheter samt attackera den fria pressen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“In country after country, authoritarian movements try to advance positions, restrict women's, minorities' and LGBTQ people's rights and attack the free press.”
• protected freedom of religion»Vi säger därför nej till visitationszoner, kollektiv bestraffning, omvänd bevisbörda, anonyma vittnen, preventiv avlyssning och inskränkningar av religionsfriheten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We therefore say no to stop-and-search zones, collective punishment, reversed burden of proof, anonymous witnesses, preventive surveillance and restrictions on freedom of religion.”

The plan wishes to introduce legal protection against conversion therapy and establishes that no tax money shall go to activities that work against fundamental democratic values. That all conversion therapy, regardless of the victim's age, shall violate the democracy requirement and can justify rejection of government grants follows directly from these commitments. The plan also wishes to tighten monitoring of grants to religious communities.

• legal protection against conversion therapydecisive»Hbtqi-kompetensen i vård, skola och omsorg ska stärkas och ett lagskydd mot omvändelseterapi ska införas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“LGBTQ+ competence in healthcare, school and care shall be strengthened and legal protection against conversion therapy shall be introduced.”
• no tax money for antidemocratic activities»Inga skattemedel ska gå till verksamheter som vill förändra det demokratiska samhället med våld« (party programme ↗)“No tax money shall go to activities that wish to change democratic society with violence”
• tightened grant monitoring»Vi vill både stärka uppföljningen av bidragsgivning och stoppa dold finansiering av trossamfund så att de inte blir verktyg för extremistiska krafter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We wish to both strengthen monitoring of grant-giving and stop hidden financing of religious communities so that they do not become tools for extremist forces.”
• protection against violation of LGBTQ+ people»Därför kan vi aldrig acceptera att ojämställdheten består eller att extremister, separatister och självutnämnda moralpoliser kränker den som öppet visar sin kärlek till någon av samma kön.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore we can never accept that inequality persists or that extremists, separatists and self-appointed moral police violate those who openly show their love for someone of the same sex.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme makes public support for religious communities conditional: it shall be provided to communities whose activities are in accordance with every human having the same absolute and inalienable value, regardless of including sexual identity. The programme also states that freedom to practise one's faith may never mean that one in the name of faith harms other people. Conversion therapy is such harm regardless of victim's age, so the plan supports that this explicitly contradicts the democracy condition. Communities' freedom from state control applies to activities that respect human dignity.

• conditional support for religious communitiesdecisive»Stöd ska därför utgå till de trossamfund som bedriver« (party programme ↗)“Support shall therefore be provided to those religious communities that conduct”
• faith shall not harm others»i trons namn kränker andra människor« (party programme ↗)“in the name of faith harm other people”
• equal value regardless of sexual orientation»kön, ålder, social position, funktionsvariationer, sexuell identitet, etnisk eller religiös tillhörighet« (party programme ↗)“sex, age, social position, functional variations, sexual identity, ethnic or religious affiliation”
• communities' freedom»frihet utan statlig styrning« (party programme ↗)“freedom without state control”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wants to ban conversion therapy that aims to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, without age restriction, and stop tax funds to organisations that incite hatred against LGBTQ people or threaten people's freedom. That all conversion therapy regardless of the victim's age shall contravene the democracy requirement and ground rejection of government grants follows directly from these commitments.

• ban on conversion therapydecisive»Förbjuda konverteringsterapi, som syftar till att ändra en individs sexuella läggning eller könsidentitet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Ban conversion therapy, which aims to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity”
• no funds for LGBTQ-hostile»Stoppa utbetalningar av skattemedel till organisationer som hetsar och sprider hat mot hbtq-personer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop disbursement of tax funds to organisations that incite and spread hatred against LGBTQ people”
• democracy requirement for grants»Stoppa utbetalningar av skattepengar till organisationer som inte delar det svenska samhällets grundläggande demokratiska värderingar utan som hotar människors frihet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop disbursement of tax money to organisations that do not share the Swedish society's fundamental democratic values but which threaten people's freedom”
• tolerance's limits»Den kan inte utsträckas till det öppna samhällets fiender.« (party programme ↗)“It cannot be extended to the enemies of the open society.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan commits to defending every person's right to choose a partner and to privacy, and to explicitly work against reactionary forces that limit how one can live one's life, whether in the private or public sphere. It also establishes that public grants should not go to organizations working in conflict with these values. Allowing the democracy condition to include conversion therapy even against adults follows from these commitments, which is why the plan supports the counter-proposal's requirement.

• against reactionary oppressiondecisive»Slå vakt om alla människors rätt att välja partner, rätten till privatliv och arbeta mot reaktionära krafter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Defend all people's right to choose a partner, the right to privacy and work against reactionary forces”
• no discrimination against LGBTQ people»Ingen ska begränsas eller diskrimineras, i det privata eller i det offentliga, på grund av hur man lever sitt liv.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“No one should be limited or discriminated against, in the private or public sphere, because of how they live their life.”
• conditional public grants»Stoppa bidrag till extremistiska idéorganisationer inom civilsamhället« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop grants to extremist ideological organizations within civil society”
• secularized view of private life»Sverigedemokraterna vill bevara den progressiva synen på sexuallivet och den sekulariserade synen på privatlivet i försvar mot reaktionära krafter som tar allt större plats i samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Sweden Democrats wish to preserve the progressive view of sexuality and the secularized view of private life in defence against reactionary forces that are taking an ever greater place in society.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.