Rainbow inclusivity in volunteering

Although significant strides have been made in the rights of sexual and gender minorities over the past few decades, discrimination and minority stress remain common experiences for many members of the rainbow community. A safe community where everyone can feel accepted is a key factor in reducing minority stress. Everyone has the right to belong to a community where they are seen, heard, and accepted as they are, without fear of discrimination or unequal treatment.

The Red Cross has a special obligation to ensure that our activities are open to everyone, regardless of an individual's sexual orientation or gender. We must also take into account factors in our operations that may increase the vulnerability of those in need of assistance. For the Red Cross, every person is valuable, and their life is important. This principle is not limited to Pride Month alone; it is a part of our daily work.

Tips on how to better account for rainbow inclusivity in your branch or activity group:

• Ensure that the principles for safer spaces are realized in your activities. It is good to review Principles for safer spaces in Red Cross activities repeatedly through discussion and by reflecting on what a safer space means specifically for your group.
• Pay particular attention to language usage. You can find support, for example, on Seta’s Rainbow Glossary page: https://seta.fi/sateenkaaritieto/sateenkaarisanasto/ (site in Finnish). Language based on assumptions is often one of the most common experiences of discrimination for rainbow people.
• Watch Dakota Robin’s training webinar independently or together with your group: Rainbow Inclusivity in Volunteer Tasks (video in Finnish).
• Use official Pride images from the Finnish Red Cross material bank and the Red Cross theme Right to Community. In communications, it is worth emphasizing that everyone has a need to be seen, heard, and accepted as themselves, and everyone has the right to belong to communities where there is no fear of being discriminated against.
• Rainbow flags are visible and well-known symbols of rainbow people and communities. They can be used, for example, in a branch's social media presence or physical space to indicate that the space is safe for representatives of sexual and gender minorities.
• Order FRC rainbow products from the webstore and use them responsibly (Home page - For the organization - Other material).