Pride events must be safe to organise and attend

The violent attack targeting Berlin’s Christopher Street Day, the city’s local Pride event, in July has caused shock and sorrow in Finland as well.

In Finland, too, harassment, hate speech, and hate-motivated acts directed at Pride events remain a serious and recurring problem year after year. According to Seta’s monitoring report (PDF, in Finnish), a record 67 Pride events were held in Finland in 2025. Approximately half of them were subjected to hate-motivated acts.

Reported incidents have included harassment and hate speech, particularly online, vandalism targeting rainbow symbols and event advertisements, and threats. Rainbow flags have been torn down, burned, and stolen. In one case, a car was driven toward participants in a Pride parade as they were crossing a pedestrian crossing.

Pride events are human rights and cultural events for LGBTIQ+ people. They support an open, diverse, and democratic society. At their core are fundamental rights and equality: whether everyone can participate in society as themselves without fear of harassment, discrimination and violence.

In international discussions on hate crimes, the term signal crime is often used. It refers to a crime or act whose impact extends beyond its immediate target. It sends a message to an entire minority group that its members are not welcome or equal participants in society.

This is precisely why harassment, hate-motivated acts, and violence directed at Pride events are not merely isolated public-order disturbances. They are serious attacks on equality and on the sense of security of a minority group. It is essential that authorities ensure the safety of Pride events through visible measures and adequate resources.

Organising and attending Pride events must be safe everywhere in Finland.

Riikka Pennanen
Head of communications