Support to increase LGBT+ safety in Reykjavík

Ritstjórn
Participants in Reykjavík Pride parade
Participants in Reykjavík Pride parade

The two-year project to increase LGBT+ safety receives a grant of over 9.7 million króna (489,000 Danish kroner).

 

The Human Rights and Democracy Office, in collaboration with Nordic Safe Cities, received a grant from the Nordic LGBTI Fund at NIKK, a Nordic cooperative institution under the Nordic Council of Ministers. This is the first time a grant has been awarded for this project.

Threats and cyberbullying

Online hate and harassment toward LGBT+ people can range from derogatory comments to threats and cyberbullying, causing dysphoria, promoting harmful stereotypes, and spreading misinformation about the group. Education can help counter this trend, but more action is needed to reach the goal. Reykjavík is the first Nordic city to receive a grant to increase LGBT+ safety.

The grant will be used to:

  • Analyze online hate and harassment toward LGBT+ people
  • Create a toolkit and action plan to promote increased LGBT+ safety
  • Introduce the project and apply it to all Nordic countries

The action plan will include recommendations and resources for Reykjavík to address hate and violence related to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or other factors. The project results will be shared with other cities to help increase LGBT+ safety across the Nordic countries.

A safer city for LGBT+ people

The grant is an important step in strengthening the City's solidarity and support for LGBT+ people, as the Human Rights and Democracy Office has implemented Rainbow Certification. The certification aims to make Reykjavík City's operations and services more LGBT+ friendly through education about LGBT+ people, stereotypes, and prejudices. About 120 Reykjavík City workplaces have now received Rainbow Certification.

Nordic partners

Leading project participants are Reykjavík City, Nordic Safe Cities (an association of cities working to increase safety in Nordic cities), Cybernauterne in Denmark (an organization specializing in online safety and social media), and C-REX (a center researching extremism, hate crimes, and political violence). An expert group will also be formed, consisting of participants from LGBT+ organizations, researchers, and policymakers in the Nordic countries.

Read more about the project here.