National Association for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender People


FRI – foreningen for kjønns- og seksualitetsmangfold, formerly called Landsforeningen for lesbiske, homofile, bifile og transpersoner , is a Norwegian member organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in Norway.

History

The organization had its early beginnings in 1949, when the Danish Forbundet af 1948 accepted two representatives in Norway. The Norwegian branch of the Danish Forbundet af 1948 was formally inaugurated May 20, 1950, thereby becoming the first Norwegian organization for gays and the start of organized work for gay rights in Norway. In 1953, the organization's name was changed to Det norske forbundet av 1948. At this time, homosexuality was a criminal offence in Norway, in addition to being a psychiatric diagnosis. The organization worked in secrecy out of concern for criminal prosecution and discrimination. It would take 15 years before someone began to openly represent the organization: Karen-Christine Friele, who from 1965 was the openly lesbian editor of DNF's first journal, OSS. In 1968, Kim Friele took over as leader of DNF 48, and from 1971 to 1989 she acted as secretary general of the organization.
In 1976, DNF 48 was split into factions, one of the factions becoming Fellesrådet for homofile organisasjoner. The factions were again united when LLH was created November 29, 1992. At the national congress in June 2008, the organization's name was changed from Landsforeningen for lesbisk og homofil frigjøring to LLH, which had formerly been the abbreviation. LLH now stood for Landsforeningen for lesbiske, homofile, bifile og transpersoner. At the national congress In 2016, the organization's name was changed to FRI – foreningen for kjønns- og seksualitetsmangfold.

Activities

The organization works for equality and against all forms of discrimination based on gender or sexuality in Norway and in the rest of the world, as stated in the organization's policy paper. It is a partner body of the Global Equality Fund run by the United States Department of State. The organization had about 2300 members in 2016.