1. Terms
Contents of this page:
- Ableism
- Accessibility
- Audio description
- Cis
- Cultural appropriation
- Cultural diversity
- Cultural rights
- Discrimination
- Diversity
- Equality
- Grounds for discrimination
- Harassment
- Harassment contact person
- Homophobia
- Inclusion
- LGBTIQA+
- Non-binary
- Racism
- Othering
- Privilege
- Representation
- Social story
- Transphobia
- Other glossaries
Ableism
Ableism refers to attitudes, practices, and systems that discriminate or underestimate people with disabilities. It is based on the assumption that being able-bodied is a normal condition, and that all people who do not meet this normal criterion are somehow inferior or less capable. In addition to people with disabilities, ableism targets people with neuro-atypical and mental health problems.
Accessibility
Accessibility means easy access of the environment, objects, products, communications or services for everyone, including people with mobility and functional disabilities.
- Good accessibility means taking into account the needs of different audiences.
- Accessibility provides an opportunity for participation and experiences, regardless of the different characteristics of individuals.
- Accessibility is the promotion of equality.
The term accessibility is used both when talking about the built environment as well as in the context of communications and services.
Good accessibility consists of an entity of which all the components are important. A municipality that invests in accessibility constantly takes diversity into account in all strategic work and plans its operations carefully.
- Communication reaches different people in ways that are accessible to them.
- Price does not constitute an obstacle to the use of the service.
- The activity is placed in accessible spaces.
- Equal customer service and an open attitude make participation pleasant.
- Information and experiences are provided through different senses.
- Obstacles to understanding are removed when language options are available and different learning styles are taken into account.
Source: What is accessibility, The Association of Finnish Cities and Municipalities
Audio description
Audio description is the description of an object, thing, work of art or even an event for a visually impaired person. Audio description is used, for example, in television series and films, in which case the visually impaired viewer is told the actors' facial expressions and gestures.
The basic principle of audio description is that the interpreter verbally communicates to the visually impaired person the information that they visually see. The description interpreter does not value, analyze or express their own views, but the description interpreter is always as objective as possible.
Source: Audio description, Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired
Cis
The word cis is used to describe the fact that a person's gender identity and gender expression are in line with the gender defined at birth and the expectations usually associated with it in culture. Most people are cisgender. Cis is the opposite of trans; the words originate in Latin, where they have the meaning of ‘this side’ and ‘the other side’. Cis-man is defined as a boy at birth. A cis-woman is defined as a girl at birth.
Cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is when a person belonging to a mainstream culture borrows, exploits, or even steals the cultural capital of a minority culture, such as objects, clothes, words, customs, or imagery, without the consent of a minority culture. A representative of a mainstream culture uses power by utilizing an object stolen or borrowed from a minority culture for their own purpose, for example as an ornament, amusement or mascot, thus belittling the minority culture and/or ignoring the original meaning of the object in the minority culture. Intentional or unintentional cultural appropriation does not respect minority culture and can cause real harm to that minority.
Source: Avaus – moninaisuustietopaketti, Culture For All -service
Cultural diversity
Cultural diversity refers to the multiple ways in which cultures of groups and communities are expressed. These expressions spread within and between groups and societies, and include artistic creation and enjoyment of it.
Source: Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions
Cultural rights
Cultural rights are human rights and belong to everyone. In Finland, everyone's right to their own language and culture is guaranteed by the Constitution. This also applies to ensuring the linguistic and cultural rights of minority groups. Belonging to minority groups and the diverse characteristics of people can have a negative impact on the realisation of cultural rights, making art and culture, and experiencing.
Source: Equality and accessibility in cultural policy (in Finnish), Cupore (pdf-file)
Discrimination
Discrimination is treating one person less favourably than others on the basis of a personal characteristic. All human beings are entitled to equal treatment, and discrimination is prohibited by many of our national laws, the Non-discrimination Act, the Criminal Code, as well as international human rights conventions.
Diversity
Diversity means that differences relating to people´s identities are respected in a safe and positive atmosphere. In society the diversity takes in all special and minority groups. At its core lies the idea of different individuals and communities that respect the differences between them. The differences can be based on, for example, gender, sexuality, social and economic status, age, physical properties, disability, appearance, religion, language, cultural distinctions, ethnicity, political views or different ideologies and beliefs. In the cultural field diversity relates to questions of how the distinct cultures of special and minority groups are taken into account in services and acquisitions, and in recording and documenting. It is also important whether attention is paid in the service supply to the interests and experiences of different audiences.
Equality
Equality is a fundamental right safeguarded by the Constitution of Finland. Equality means that all people are of equal value, regardless of their gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, skin colour, language, religion, disability or sexual orientation.
Formal equality
Formal equality means that everyone is always treated the same. However, this does not guarantee equality because formal equality does not consider differences in people’s backgrounds, such as their health, gender, age and language
Substantive equality
Substantive equality may require deviating from formal equality to ensure that everyone is equal, regardless of their background. Substantive equality is promoted with reasonable accommodations such as assistive devices and with equality plans, for example.
Grounds for discrimination
Grounds for discrimination prohibited by the Non-discrimination Act are age, origin, nationality, language, religion, belief, opinion, political activity, trade union activity, family relationships, state of health, disability, sexual orientation and other personal characteristics.
Discrimination related to gender, gender identity and gender expression belongs to the domain of the Ombudsman for Equality.
Source: Grounds for Discrimination, The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman
Multiple discrimination
Multiple discrimination means being discriminated against on the basis of two or more grounds for discrimination. The Non-discrimination Act also applies to multiple discrimination when one of the grounds for discrimination is gender. Otherwise gender-based discrimination is monitored by the Ombudsman for Equality.
The Non-Discrimination Act also applies to multiple discrimination, in which two or more personal characteristics only together lead to prohibited discrimination. This is known as intersectional discrimination.
Minorities in particular may be vulnerable to multiple discrimination. For example, a person with a disability who is a member of an ethnic minority may experience discrimination due to both disability and origin.
Harassment
Harassment constitutes discrimination prohibited by the Non-Discrimination Act. In the Act, harassment is defined as the deliberate or de facto infringement of the dignity and integrity of a person. In harassment, a person’s behaviour creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for another person related to prohibited grounds for discrimination, such as sexual orientation, origin or disability. Harassment can also be committed against groups of people in addition to individuals. This means that, the investigation of harassment will not require a specific individual, a harassment victim, against whom harassment is suspected.
Behaviour is understood broadly so that it also includes e-mail messages, facial expressions, gestures or the display of inappropriate material e.g. online, or other kinds of communication. The behaviour infringing dignity does not need to be directly aimed at a specific individual; it may also be aimed at a group of people.
Harassment contact person
A harassment contact person is a support person whose job is to help those who have experienced harassment, bullying, discrimination, violence or other inappropriate behavior.
Source: A guide for a harassment contact person 2024 in Finnish (pdf-file)
Homophobia
Homophobia refers to anger, disgust, or fear of same-sex attraction. Homophobia is directed, for example, at homosexuality, bisexuality and pansexuality.
Source: Homophobia and transphobia (in Finnish), Sua varten somessa
Inclusion
Inclusion is belonging and being heard. A person involved can influence the course of their own life, services and some common things.
When promoting inclusion, special attention should be paid to the most vulnerable and discriminated against. If a vulnerable person can participate, influence and be part of the group, the conditions for inclusion are also more likely to be good for others too.
Source: Inclusion promotion models (in Finnish), Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
LGBTIQA+
The letter combination refers to both sexual and gender minorities: lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans people, intersex, queers, and asexuals. Plus means other additional identities not captured within the initialism. There are different versions of the acronym depending on which groups you want to refer to.
Source: Seta's rainbow dictionary (in Finnish)
Non-binary
A non-binary person can be both male and female, somewhere between male and female, or completely outside of this division. Non-binary gender can also serve as an umbrella concept for other non-binary gender identities, such as gender fluid, gender queer, and agender. The term transgender used to be used as a synonym for non-binary.Not everyone outside the binary gender divide experiences the term as their gender identity.
Racism
Racism is a way of thinking in which groups of people are held to be inferior on the basis of such characteristics as ethnic origin, skin colour, nationality, culture, native language or religion. Racism may be manifest in various aspects of life as intentional or unwitting interaction between individuals and groups based on prejudice and fear of the unfamiliar, or as discriminatory practices within the structures of society. Racism perpetuates inequality, harming not only its targets but society as a whole.
Racism is a system in which policies, institutional practices, culture and other norms perpetuate social dominances that hold certain groups of people to be inferior to others.
Othering
A social process in which individuals or groups of people who deviate from the norm are classified as outsiders by the group in power. This is done through defining, naming, identifying, and excluding, as well as a continuous repetition of the characteristics seen as characteristics of the group.
Privilege
Privileges refer to the benefits that people or groups of people receive in different situations. Privileges are based on prevailing norms, which may be conscious or unconscious, culturally and historically determined or legislative. One example is the confirmation of a child's paternity, which is simpler in (heterosexual) marriage than in other relationships. Source: Equality Glossary (in Finnish), Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
Some people are already given privileges, for example, when they are born into a certain position. Privileges are intersectional, i.e. they can be based on many factors such as gender and socioeconomic status. As an example, cis privilege, i.e. identifying as cis, is privileged in relation to transgender people, as it does not face the discrimination and other negative things that society produces in relation to trans people. Source: Glossary, Fem-R ry
Representation
The term refers to the ability of a group of people to be heard and seen in society, for example in the media. When talking about representation, the lack of minority voice in social decision-making is also referred to.
Social story
A social story is a story told in pictures and text about what happens in a social situation. The story can be made, for example, from a museum visit. The important thing is to tell in what order things happen and where they happen. The social story helps to focus on the cultural experience. You can use the story to figure out when the situation starts and when it ends. This can allay uncertainty. The story allows social situations to be anticipated, made more familiar and safer.
Transphobia
Transphobia refers to anger, disgust, or fear towards people whose perceived and/or expressed gender does not match their gender at birth. Transphobia affects transgender and non-binary people, for example.
Source: Homophobia and transphobia (in Finnish), Sua varten somessa
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