Monday, October 12, 2026 • 7:44 PM UTC - in Denmark

Amnesty deeply concerned about rejection of LGBTQ+ pocket book

Four organizations have sent a letter to regional council chairman Bo Libergren (V). They are concerned that the region has rejected a handbook for healthcare personnel.

The pocket book was supposed to be placed in break rooms or in the pockets of healthcare staff in the region. (ARCHIVE) (Photo: © Ida Guldbæk Arentsen, Ritzau Scanpix) 17 minutes ago

Last week, a majority in the business committee of the Region of Southern Denmark rejected a pocket book that was intended as a reference work for healthcare professionals.

The handbook includes, among other things, glossaries and tips for general LGBTQ+-friendly practice.

But a majority in the committee wants the book sent back to the drawing board and revised. The majority wants, among other things, it to be stated that there are only two genders, and that 'woke-ideological terms such as "hen" are not used'.

Venstre proposed the amendment, which was supported by Liberal Alliance, Danish People's Party, Conservatives, and Denmark Democrats.

That rejection has now prompted the organizations Amnesty International, Sund LGBT+, Social Sundhed, and Normkritiske læger to write a letter to regional council chairman Bo Libergren (V).

The organizations write in the letter that 'the patients do not disappear because we remove the words that describe them.'

*Browse the draft of the handbook yourself, or see the entire draft* *here*

1 / 4 (© Region of Southern Denmark) 1 / 4 (© Region of Southern Denmark) 2 / 4 (© Region of Southern Denmark) 3 / 4 (© Region of Southern Denmark) 4 / 4

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An uncertain future

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The amendment prompted the Social Democrats, SF, the Radical Left, and the Red-Green Alliance to use their right to suspend the decision, meaning the amendment must be discussed at the regional council meeting on October 26. Therefore, the pocket book's future is still uncertain.

Bo Libergren (V) confirms that he has received the letter but will not comment on it for now.

- Out of respect for the suspension of the decision, I await the open political debate in the regional council, he says.

The organizations fear that the healthcare professional discussion is being overshadowed by the political debate about which words are acceptable.

They write in the letter that they are afraid that a rejection of the handbook could mean that LGBTQ+ people are less likely to seek healthcare, and that LGBTQ+ people experience a lack of knowledge and inappropriate assumptions about gender, sexuality, and family forms, which could ultimately mean that people do not seek help and do not receive the treatment and prevention they need.

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.