NEWS: Man Called Transman A Woman – Sentenced For Defamation
Is recognizing biological sex defamation?
Helsinki district court found a man guilty of defamation on 7th October 2025. The man had called a transman a woman several times after two transmen entered the men’s dressing room at a gym. The defendant had also stated that women do not belong in men’s dressing rooms and that men do not belong in women’s sports
The district court’s decision begs the question, which should take precedence — biology or bureaucracy?
Referring to a person who has changed their legal sex through self-ID by their biological sex can be defamatory
In its judgement, the district court stated that that “sex and gender terms are not injurious per se, but the claim that a person belongs to a sex other than the one with which that person identifies can be slanderous”.
The plaintiff was called a woman loudly and repeatedly, despite the defendant’s being corrected on the matter. For this reason, the action was interpreted as a deliberate attempt “to make the plaintiff the centre of uncomfortable attention and thereby to defame the plaintiff”
The defendant’s raised voice and the location of the altercation in the locker room were deemed enough proof for the court to show that this was not a “standard conversation or a justifiable statement of opinion”.
The ruling is not final and can be appealed.
Sentence for unlawful threats
The defendant was also sentenced for making unlawful threats against the plaintiff. The court heard that he had made several claims in English regarding the physiological differences between men and women. The man was alleged to have said that if he were to hit the plaintiff, the plaintiff would die. And if he were to rape the plaintiff, the plaintiff would become pregnant. The man denies making these claims as threats.
The plaintiff and the plaintiff’s witness (both transmen) both said that they perceived these statements as threats and testified that the defendant intended himself as the perpetrator and the plaintiff as the victim of said claims. The District Court dismissed the man’s defence that a misunderstanding had arisen due to the language barrier, as both parties claim to speak English well.
In the locker room, the defendant also said that men and women should not compete together. For instance, in combat sports women can seriously injure themselves when competing against men.
The combined sentence for both was 50 day-fines.
This case raises important questions regarding freedom of speech and the limits of biology. Is it reasonable to assume that everyone sees gender identity and legal sex as superseding biological and physiological reality? Can we question someone’s right to be in a locker room on the grounds of privacy and dignity?
Do you have the right to question someone’s right to be in a locker room based on sex sensitive decency?
How much should Finns be worried about the language police?
(Story was edited: 30th of October 2025 “First one to report” was added on 2rd of November 2025)
Source: (R 706/2024/7252), First one to report on this was “Akin lakiapu“.