Gender equality

In January, 2025, the Swedish Government decided on a new action plan for equal rights and opportunities for LGBTIQ persons. The action plan aims to further strengthen efforts to support rights and opportunities for LGBTIQ persons by consolidating, supplementing and mobilising these efforts.

This Strategy governs Sweden’s development cooperation for gender equality and women’s and girls’ freedom and empowerment from 2025 to 2028 with a total volume of SEK 800 million. Through Sida, Swedish support will contribute to four objectives that the Government particularly prioritises to strengthen gender equality and women’s and girls’ freedom and empowerment internationally.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard visited New York on 18–19 June. Ms Malmer Stenergard met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, addressed the UN Security Council and spoke at the annual session of the UN Women Executive Board.

Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard at UN Women Annual Session 2025. Check against delivery.

The Government has decided to refer a proposal for new legislation to criminalise virginity testing, virginity certificates and hymenoplasty to the Council on Legislation. The proposal also includes criminalising the failure to report forced or child marriage. These proposals aim to strengthen the protection of women and girls living in communities where honour-based abuse is prevalent.

Statement by Ms Paulina Brandberg, Minister for Gender Equality at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, New York, 12 March 2025. Check against delivery.

Growing political opposition around the world to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), especially abortion, risks having extremely serious consequences for women and girls. The Government has therefore approved an additional SEK 75 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Minister for Gender Equality and Working Life Paulina Brandberg is taking part in the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) on 10–14 March. This year also marks 30 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the main focus of the this year’s session will be to review and evaluate its implementation.

Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard, delivered at the Women’s Ambassador Network on 19 February 2025. Check against delivery.

The Swedish presidency statement delivered by Minister for Social Services Camilla Waltersson Grönvall at the UN Women Executive Board meeting, UN Main Building, New York. Check against delivery.

Joint statement from the governements of Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Iceland, Mexico, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, and Sweden.

The Government is announcing a new action plan for an inclusive and equal society. The action plan aims to further strengthen efforts to support rights and opportunities for LGBTIQ people by consolidating, supplementing and mobilising these efforts.

The Government has decided to invest SEK 4.3 billion in global health and increased sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Sida has been tasked with implementing a five-year strategy for Sweden’s development cooperation in the area of health and sexual and reproductive health and rights from 2025 to 2029.

The Government met with more than 50 heads of government agencies to follow up these agencies’ efforts to promote gender equality in the frame of the Swedish Government’s development programme on gender mainstreaming in government agencies, which have been underway for over a decade. The focus of the meeting was to both take stock of the results of these efforts and have a dialogue about the future direction.

Gender-based violence and honour-based violence and oppression were central themes as Nordic and Baltic gender equality ministers met in Stockholm on 27 November. The meeting took place in connection with a meeting in the Nordic Council of Ministers for Gender Equality and LGBTI earlier in the day.

In its 2025 Budget Bill, the Government is presenting a range of initiatives to tackle men’s violence against women. The Government intends to propose strengthening support to victims of prostitution, and to allocate SEK 10 million for this purpose in 2025. The Government also intends to propose reinforcements to national telephone help lines for victims of violence, with the aim of preventing and combating men’s violence against women, intimate partner violence, honour-based violence and oppression, and prostitution and human trafficking. It is therefore proposed that the National Centre for Knowledge on Men’s Violence Against Women (NCK) at Uppsala University receive an additional SEK 7 million in 2025. The aim is to increase the national help lines’ response rate.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard delivered an address during the UN Federation’s seminar on UN Day on 24 October 2024. The seminar was held at the Stockholm Concert Hall. Check against delivery.

National Statement at the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) delivered by Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard on behalf of Sweden. New York, September 2024. Check against delivery.

The text of the following joint statement was released by the Governments of Australia, Chile, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America

The Government’s new action programme to prevent and combat men’s violence against women, domestic violence, honour-based violence and oppression, and prostitution and human trafficking, for the period 2024–2026, contatins over 130 initiatives and measures. This is a short version of the action programme.