LGBTQ+ Safety — Finland

Being LGBTQ+ is fully legal in Finland and the law actively backs you up. Same-sex couples can marry, and the Non-Discrimination Act bans discrimination based on sexual orientation in both public and private settings - shops, hotels, restaurants, services and work. Refusing to serve you on that basis is a criminal offence, not just a civil wrong. You can take a complaint to the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman.

Penalties here fall on people who discriminate against you, not on you. Criminal Code 39/1889 ch.11 s.11: anyone who, in business, professional practice, service to the public, official duty, or when organising a public event, without acceptable grounds refuses to serve someone on generally applied terms, refuses them entry or removes them, or places them in a manifestly unequal position on grounds including sexual orientation, is punished by a fine or imprisonment up to 6 months. Ch.11 s.10 (public incitement against a group, sexual orientation included): fine or up to 2 years. Ch.47 s.3 (employment discrimination): fine or up to 6 months.