Seta (standing for ' "Sexual equality"), founded in 1974, is the main

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

rights organisation in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. It is a national organization with several member organizations around the country. Its general secretary is Kerttu Tarjamo and chairman Sakris Kupila. The 11th President of Finland,

Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen (; born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisa ...

, was the chairwoman of Seta 1980–81.

Awards

Seta awards the annual ''Asiallisen tiedon omena'' (the "Apple of Objective Information") to people or organizations that have improved the status of LGBT minorities or distributed objective information about the diversity of sexuality and gender. It has been awarded to the following people or organizations, among others: * 2008 to singer

Jenni Vartiainen Jenni is a feminine given name, sometimes a modern diminutive or short form of Jennifer. The etymology is actually that of a diminutive of Jane, however. A separate name, with the same spelling, serves as a Finnish language diminutive of Johan ...

and songwriter

Teemu Brunila Teemu William Brunila (born 24 November 1976, in Turku) is a Finnish singer, songwriter, musician and producer. Brunila became known as the lead vocalist and songwriter for the pop group The Crash. During their career, the band released four stud ...

for their single "

Ihmisten edessä ''Ihmisten edessä'' ( en, In Front of People) is the debut studio album by Finnish pop singer, Jenni Vartiainen. The Finnish-language album was released digitally on 5 September 2007, with the physical release following on 12 September. The al ...

". According to Seta, the piece is an apposite evocation of the courage needed from LGBT people to e.g. publicly hold hands. The ''Kunniarotta'' ("Rat of Honor") is an ironic anti-honor awarded to people or organizations that have contributed to discrimination based on sexuality or gender identity, or otherwise made the life of LGBT people more difficult. The Rat has been awarded e.g. to the following: * 2003 to Finnish Red Cross for not accepting donated blood from men that have had sex with another man. According to Seta, this stamps a whole group of people as potential carriers of the

HIV virus The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immun ...

, which in Seta's opinion keeps up the discriminatory attitudes. * 2006 to professor Tuula Tamminen, chairwoman of the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, for stating that fatherless children are abnormal and that for this reason

infertility treatment Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes o ...

s should not be given to female couples or single women. According to Seta, Tamminen has abused her recognized position and against the ethics of science ignored the numerous studies stating that it is the stability of family relationships, not the number or genders of the parents, that are crucial for the child's welfare and development. * 2008 to lord mayor Raimo Ilaskivi, MP Bjarne Kallis, and general Gustav Hägglund for their statements in the fuss caused by the puppet animation '' The Butterfly from Ural''.

References

External links

* {{LGBT in Nordic countries LGBT organisations in Finland Organisations based in Helsinki Tarja Halonen 1974 establishments in Finland Organizations established in 1974

Awards

See also

References

External links