Support the legal process of a Swedish trans kid
Donation protected
This is a support campaign for a 13 year old Swedish trans girl, Maja, in a legal process against the city of Stockholm. Maja is appealing to the High court after losing her case in the District Court. We need your help for a more trans-inclusive society!
Facebook page in Swedish and English
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
1) Donate – all amounts even a small one, are greatly appreciated!
2) Spread the link to this this campaign. Invite more people to donate.
3) Write a fb status, or post a Instagram story – encourage more people to challenge transphobia!
4) Please help us by continuing to spread a positive and trans-inclusive message in all forums where this case is discussed. It would be empowering and hopeful for Maja and for other transgender people who are in a similar situation.
BACKGROUND - THIS IS WHAT HAS HAPPENED:
The City of Stockholm discriminates our daughter who is trans. The specific grounds for this case is a policy that forbids her to change before PE in the girls' dressing room even though she is a girl. Our daughter has been stuggling with this problem since the fall of 2017 when she was 11 years old. The struggle has been supported by the organization the Children's Rights Office (Barnrättsbyrån) and the Anti-Discrimination Office in Östergötland. In december the district court of Stockholm ruled against us so we are now asking dear friends and the transcommunity, and all the human rights activists, for help so we can pay for the lawyer who will help us (her) drive the appeal to the High Court. Our amazing and brave daughter is determined to appeal this case to the High court (Svea Hovrätt and possibly Högsta domstolen). We expect legal costs of about SEK 70000. A sum that is impossible for us to pay ourselves. We believe that this case will be of great importance to so many transgender kids.
THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT! LOVE, SOLIDARITY AND ACTION
BACKGROUND - FROM MAJA:
My name is Maja and I am a 13 year old girl at the Eriksdals school in Stockholm.
In the fall of 2017, my principal and school management decided that I would not be allowed to change into the girls' locker room before PE class. This descision is based on the fact that I'm trans. For me this means that because I am trans, the school has the right to treat me unfairly. I have told them that all I want is to be treated like all the other girls and change with my friends in the regular dressing room. But in response to that, the City of Stockholm has made a decision that will apply to all students who are trans.
They have appointed me to a third dressing room, for trans students. It’s really awesome that there’s a third alternative for nonbinary students or others who do not want to be in the girls’ or guys’ locker rooms, but the thing is that I feel uncomfortable and pointed when I am forced into that special dressing room, I just want to change into the girls' dressing room.
When all this started, I got in touch with an organization called the Children's Rights Office and they helped me to talk to the school and to report to the Equality ombudsman, DO. We found out that the school will not change this decision. That is why I turned to the Anti-Discrimination Agency in Östergötland. They helped me sue the City of Stockholm for discrimination. For a year, the agency’s two lawyers, Anna Quarnström and Elias Ibrahim, have been pursuing the case in district court.
The case is a "small claims legal case" which means that I will not get a large sum of money if we win. But for me it is very important to continue with the appeal, it’s about my right to be treated like every other girl at school.
This process has been difficult. I have been in so many meetings with different principals and teachers at the school, lawyers, judges and lots of others.
The trial in district court was in December. We got the verdict and lost the case on the Friday before the Christmas holidays. I am very sad and dissatisfied with this judgment.
It feels like the City of Stockholm is questioning me and using lots of arguments that show that they do not understand what it is like to live as a (young) transgender person. The verdict, and Stockholm city, also used very racist arguments that say that one of the reasons I cannot change in the girl’s locker room is because Sweden has received so many refugees the last few years. They basically mean that refugees won’t accept transgender students in boys’ and girls’ locker rooms. I definately do not want Sweden to welcome less refugees and do not understand why the court uses refugee rights as an explanation for why trans kids should not have their rights respected.
The Anti-Discrimination Office has been wonderful, but they have no resources to continue my case appeal in the High Court.
I want to keep fighting but to be able to do that I need to raise money for a lawyer who can represent me.
The lawyer I have chosen is Silas Aliki at the People's Law Office in Stockholm. They specialize in HBTQI cases within the law. I think we have a real chance to win this, and if we do, it's for the rights of all transgender kids (and adults). I want to keep fighting because it would make a huge difference to my schooling and to so many others in the same situation.
We estimate that the cost will be approximately SEK 70,000.
For my family, this is of course a lot of money. That's why we need help.
Big thanks to everyone who read this and considers giving support
A little more info on what happened:
We have received questions if we have reported to the Equality Ombudsman, DO. The answer is yes. We got help to report to DO in the spring of 2018 by Karin Henriksson & Nina Andersson at the Children's Law Office and Carin Apelmo at Gothenburg's Rights Center, GRC. DO dropped the case after a very short time. The School Inspectorate, which we later reported to, also forwarded the case to the DO, as it concerns a protected ground of discrimination.
We think DO have different to drop a case like this without even investigating. One problem is that DO almost haven’t adressed or processed any trans issues since transgender identiy or expression became a protected ground in 2009. They basically lack knowledge and experience of trans issues. Another reason is that DO by principle do not process very many individual cases to court. It is also problable that DO doesn’t not realize that this problem is affecting a growing proportion of young transgender people. And that is why DO doesn’t acknowledge this case as pretty important for many people. But these are just guesses because DO did not explain why they chose not to investigate the case.
Facebook page in Swedish and English
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
1) Donate – all amounts even a small one, are greatly appreciated!
2) Spread the link to this this campaign. Invite more people to donate.
3) Write a fb status, or post a Instagram story – encourage more people to challenge transphobia!
4) Please help us by continuing to spread a positive and trans-inclusive message in all forums where this case is discussed. It would be empowering and hopeful for Maja and for other transgender people who are in a similar situation.
BACKGROUND - THIS IS WHAT HAS HAPPENED:
The City of Stockholm discriminates our daughter who is trans. The specific grounds for this case is a policy that forbids her to change before PE in the girls' dressing room even though she is a girl. Our daughter has been stuggling with this problem since the fall of 2017 when she was 11 years old. The struggle has been supported by the organization the Children's Rights Office (Barnrättsbyrån) and the Anti-Discrimination Office in Östergötland. In december the district court of Stockholm ruled against us so we are now asking dear friends and the transcommunity, and all the human rights activists, for help so we can pay for the lawyer who will help us (her) drive the appeal to the High Court. Our amazing and brave daughter is determined to appeal this case to the High court (Svea Hovrätt and possibly Högsta domstolen). We expect legal costs of about SEK 70000. A sum that is impossible for us to pay ourselves. We believe that this case will be of great importance to so many transgender kids.
THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT! LOVE, SOLIDARITY AND ACTION
BACKGROUND - FROM MAJA:
My name is Maja and I am a 13 year old girl at the Eriksdals school in Stockholm.
In the fall of 2017, my principal and school management decided that I would not be allowed to change into the girls' locker room before PE class. This descision is based on the fact that I'm trans. For me this means that because I am trans, the school has the right to treat me unfairly. I have told them that all I want is to be treated like all the other girls and change with my friends in the regular dressing room. But in response to that, the City of Stockholm has made a decision that will apply to all students who are trans.
They have appointed me to a third dressing room, for trans students. It’s really awesome that there’s a third alternative for nonbinary students or others who do not want to be in the girls’ or guys’ locker rooms, but the thing is that I feel uncomfortable and pointed when I am forced into that special dressing room, I just want to change into the girls' dressing room.
When all this started, I got in touch with an organization called the Children's Rights Office and they helped me to talk to the school and to report to the Equality ombudsman, DO. We found out that the school will not change this decision. That is why I turned to the Anti-Discrimination Agency in Östergötland. They helped me sue the City of Stockholm for discrimination. For a year, the agency’s two lawyers, Anna Quarnström and Elias Ibrahim, have been pursuing the case in district court.
The case is a "small claims legal case" which means that I will not get a large sum of money if we win. But for me it is very important to continue with the appeal, it’s about my right to be treated like every other girl at school.
This process has been difficult. I have been in so many meetings with different principals and teachers at the school, lawyers, judges and lots of others.
The trial in district court was in December. We got the verdict and lost the case on the Friday before the Christmas holidays. I am very sad and dissatisfied with this judgment.
It feels like the City of Stockholm is questioning me and using lots of arguments that show that they do not understand what it is like to live as a (young) transgender person. The verdict, and Stockholm city, also used very racist arguments that say that one of the reasons I cannot change in the girl’s locker room is because Sweden has received so many refugees the last few years. They basically mean that refugees won’t accept transgender students in boys’ and girls’ locker rooms. I definately do not want Sweden to welcome less refugees and do not understand why the court uses refugee rights as an explanation for why trans kids should not have their rights respected.
The Anti-Discrimination Office has been wonderful, but they have no resources to continue my case appeal in the High Court.
I want to keep fighting but to be able to do that I need to raise money for a lawyer who can represent me.
The lawyer I have chosen is Silas Aliki at the People's Law Office in Stockholm. They specialize in HBTQI cases within the law. I think we have a real chance to win this, and if we do, it's for the rights of all transgender kids (and adults). I want to keep fighting because it would make a huge difference to my schooling and to so many others in the same situation.
We estimate that the cost will be approximately SEK 70,000.
For my family, this is of course a lot of money. That's why we need help.
Big thanks to everyone who read this and considers giving support
A little more info on what happened:
We have received questions if we have reported to the Equality Ombudsman, DO. The answer is yes. We got help to report to DO in the spring of 2018 by Karin Henriksson & Nina Andersson at the Children's Law Office and Carin Apelmo at Gothenburg's Rights Center, GRC. DO dropped the case after a very short time. The School Inspectorate, which we later reported to, also forwarded the case to the DO, as it concerns a protected ground of discrimination.
We think DO have different to drop a case like this without even investigating. One problem is that DO almost haven’t adressed or processed any trans issues since transgender identiy or expression became a protected ground in 2009. They basically lack knowledge and experience of trans issues. Another reason is that DO by principle do not process very many individual cases to court. It is also problable that DO doesn’t not realize that this problem is affecting a growing proportion of young transgender people. And that is why DO doesn’t acknowledge this case as pretty important for many people. But these are just guesses because DO did not explain why they chose not to investigate the case.
Organizer
Madde Edlund
Organizer
Bandhagen, AB, Sweden
