Police suspect media conglomerate executive of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation

Alert DateOctober 1, 2008 Country: Finland Address: Rovaniemi General Type: Discrimination Racism and discrimination phenomena: Homophobia
Groups affected / Interested in: Majority Key socio-economic/institutional areas: Employment - labour market
Victims Data
Victims Nationality/Ethnic Origin Finnish
Victims Gender Female
Victims Age 36-45
Victims Number 1
Fatalities - deaths N/A
Perpetrators Data
Perpetrators Nationality/Ethnic Origin Finnish
Perpetrator Gender N/A
Perpetrator Age N/A
Perpetrators Number N/A
Extremist/Organised Group Violence No

Police continue to suspect that the media conglomerate Alma Media committed discrimination when it sacked Johanna Korhonen, who had been hired as the new editor-in-chief of the Rovaniemi-based newspaper Lapin Kansa. The police have interrogated a number of representatives of Alma Media on suspicion of discrimination. Some of them were cleared by police during the investigation. Now only one Alma Media executive remains under suspicion.


    
The criminal investigation began at the request of the Uusimaa Occupational Safety District, which had concluded after investigating the case that Alma Media had treated Korhonen in a discriminatory manner, and that there were no legal grounds for terminating her. Korhonen feels that the real reason why she was sacked was that she is living in a registered partnership with another woman.

 

Alma Media says that the problem was not her lesbian relationship as such, and maintains that the real issue was that Korhonen had behaved dishonestly by not correcting an erroneous assumption of her partner’s gender during the job interview.


    
Alma Media won one round of the case in June when Helsinki District Court rejected Korhonen’s lawsuit. Korhonen had demanded nearly EUR 230,000 in compensation, but ended up being ordered to pay EUR 8,000 in her opponent’s court costs. In the view of the court, Alma Media was within its rights in terminating the contract on the basis of a lack of confidence. The decision has been appealed.

Source:

Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition: Police suspect Alma Media executive of discrimination in Korhonen case (5.8.2009) http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Police+suspect+Alma+Media+executive+of+discrimination+in+Korhonen+case/1135248221853