Swedish Women's Lobby

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Swedish Women's Lobby
Formation1997
TypePolitical advocacy
President
Susannah Sjöberg
AffiliationsEuropean Women's Lobby
Websitesverigeskvinnolobby.se

The Swedish Women's Lobby (Swedish: Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer; formerly Sveriges Kvinnolobby) is a Swedish gender-critical political advocacy organization, and an umbrella organization for various Swedish organizations. It was founded in 1997, originally named Samverkansforum för Kvinnor i Sverige (SAMS). It has 40 member organizations and is a member of the European Women's Lobby. Its president is Susannah Sjöberg.

From the onset the goal of the organization was "to integrate women's perspectives into all political, economical, and social processes, locally as well as internationally", based on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Beijing Platform for Action.[1][2] Since 2018 the group has faced criticism from feminists and LGBT rights advocates for campaigning against transgender rights and promoting gender-critical ideas.[3][4][5][6] In the debate over transgender rights the group has aligned itself with the far-right Sweden Democrats in recent years, and opposes the trans-inclusive position held by all left-wing and centrist parties.[7]

Views on transgender people[edit]

Since 2018 the organization has extensively campaigned against transgender rights in Sweden and been been criticized for transphobia.[6] According to scholars Alm and Engebretsen the Swedish Women's Lobby has promoted gender-critical (or TERF) ideas.[3] Its current member organizations include XXantippas Vrede, the Swedish branch of the far-right anti-trans group Women's Declaration International (WDI).[8] WDI is considered a hate group and described as part of an "anti-LGBTQ+ pseudoscience network" by Southern Poverty Law Center.[9][10]

In 2019 Signe Krantz, a 20-year old transgender woman who was a candidate for the board of the Swedish Women's Lobby and who represented one of its member organizations, Maktsalongen, was denied the opportunity to be a candidate due to being transgender, with representatives of the Swedish Women's Lobby making inquiries about her legal gender without her knowledge. Maktsalongen subsequently left the Swedish Women's Lobby over the group's anti-trans stance.[5] This led to strong criticism of the Swedish Women's Lobby in Swedish media and civil society.[6] The National Council of Swedish Children and Youth Organisations published an open letter criticizing the Swedish Women's Lobby for transphobia.[4][11]

In 2021 gender-critical group Women’s Rights Watch, an organization that claims to work for "sex-based rights", joined as a member.[12] In 2023 the Swedish Women's Lobby and anti-trans group Women’s Rights Watch organized a seminar on gender self-identification that featured prominent figures in the anti-trans movement including Reem Alsalem.[13] According to legal scholar Jens Theilen Alsalem "is using women’s rights as a tool to undermine trans rights"[14] and she has been widely criticized for anti-trans views.[15]

In 2024 the Swedish Women's Lobby joined the far-right Sweden Democrats to oppose the Gender Recognition Act that was proposed by the Moderate Party and supported by all left-wing parties.[7] The organization has claimed that legal gender recognition for transgender people threatens gender equality, and has promoted the ideas of the anti-trans movement about transgender people as a threat to women in toilets (see bathroom bill), locker rooms and sports.[16] These claims have been described as baseless, transphobic and linked to the far-right by many feminist organizations.[17][18][19]

While the organization did not focus as much on transgender people before 2018, it received criticism for platforming racist and transphobic speakers in connection with its Nordic Forum event in 2014, and several prominent Swedish feminists and representatives of the Feminist Initiative party published an open letter criticizing the event for racism and transphobia.[20]

In response to criticism, the Swedish Women's Lobby has stated that it works "for the rights of all women and girls, including trans women."[21] However, it also claims to work for "sex-based rights",[22] which is described by Pearce et al. as "a central concept mobilised" by the TERF movement.[23]

Presidents[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Beijing Platform for Action, United Nations
  2. ^ Swedish Women's Lobby, European Women's Lobby
  3. ^ a b Alm, E., & Engebretsen, E. L. (2020). Gender Self-identification. Lambda Nordica, 25(1), 48-56. doi:10.34041/ln.v25.613
  4. ^ a b Lindgren, Joakim (April 8, 2019). "Öppet brev till Sveriges Kvinnolobby". National Council of Swedish Children and Youth Organisations.
  5. ^ a b "De lämnar Sveriges kvinnolobby i protest". sites.jmk.su.se. April 16, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Ortiz, Joel Mauricio Isabel (2019-06-09). "Hur ska vi förstå transfobin?". Ottar. Detta ledde till stark kritik mot organisationen och till en diskussion i medier och sociala medier om transfobi
  7. ^ a b "Swedish feminist organizations oppose gender self-identification law". March 30, 2024 – via Le Monde.
  8. ^ "Medlemsorganisationer". Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer.
  9. ^ "Timeline: Building a Pseudoscience Network". Combating Anti-LGBTQ+ Pseudoscience. Southern Poverty Law Center. 2023.
  10. ^ "Group dynamics and division of labor within the anti-LGBTQ+ pseudoscience network". Combating Anti-LGBTQ+ Pseudoscience. Southern Poverty Law Center. 2023. Table 5.2: Networked Groups by Typology [...] Narrative Manipulation: [...] Women's Declaration International
  11. ^ Nilsson, Emelie (April 13, 2019). "Förtydliganden om vårt öppna brev till Sveriges Kvinnolobby". National Council of Swedish Children and Youth Organisations.
  12. ^ "Vi välkomnar Women's Rights Watch som ny medlem!". Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer.
  13. ^ "Se vårt Almedalsseminarium om självidentifikation i efterhand". Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer.
  14. ^ Theilen, Jens (2024). "Intersectionality's Travels to International Human Rights Law". Michigan Journal of International Law. 45 (2).
  15. ^ "There Is No Place for Anti-Trans Agendas in the UN". Association for Women's Rights in Development. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Jämställdheten hotas om alla ska få bestämma sitt juridiska kön själva". GP. 2024-03-11.
  17. ^ Meisler, Hallie (December 6, 2023). "Once and For All: This Is Why We Support Trans Women and Girls in Sports". National Women's Law Center.
  18. ^ "Statement of Women's Rights and Gender Justice Organizations in Support of Full and Equal Access to Participation in Athletics for Transgender People" (PDF). American Association of University Women. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  19. ^ "National Consensus Statement of Anti-Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Organizations in Support of Full and Equal Access for the Transgender Community". National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. Archived from the original on 2024-03-31. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  20. ^ "Nordiskt forum normaliserar rasism". www.aftonbladet.se. June 16, 2014.
  21. ^ Vi verkar för alla kvinnors och flickors rättigheter, Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer
  22. ^ "Kvinnors och flickors rättigheter möter transperspektivet". Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer.
  23. ^ Pearce, Ruth; Erikainen, Sonja; Vincent, Ben (2020). "TERF wars: An introduction". The Sociological Review. 68 (4): 677–698. doi:10.1177/0038026120934713. hdl:2164/18988. S2CID 221097475.

External links[edit]

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