Harassment and discrimination of the Sami people – a rapid review
Mapping review
|Published
The objective of this rapid review was to map and describe the research on harassment and discrimination of the Sami people in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The rapid review aims to highlight the challenges and identify areas in need of more research.
Key message
In Norway, the Sami people were subjected to a persistent assimilation policy from the mid-1800s until the late 1960s. The assimilation policy has contributed to legitimizing the discrimination of the Sami, and while the policy has been abandoned, the Sami people still experience harassment and discrimination based on their ethnicity.
This rapid review mapped and described the existing research published between 2014 and 2024 on harassment and discrimination of the Sami people residing in Norway, Sweden and Finland. We included 32 studies, of which 19 were from Norway, eight from Sweden, four from Finland, and one had data from both Norway and Sweden.
The results indicate that discrimination against the Sami continues, across many societal arenas. Discrimination negatively impacts the physical and mental health of the Sami and has a detrimental effect on their everyday life and well-being. Many Sami explain that they hide their identity to protect themselves from harassment and discrimination. They encounter limited knowledge of the Sami language and culture in society at large. The school system and healthcare services neither have adequate competence to bridge the knowledge gap, nor to provide culturally sensitive healthcare services to the Sami population. Between 2014 and 2024, countless interventions have been suggested to combat harassment and discrimination against the Sami. However, few have been implemented, and only one intervention has been evaluated: The Sami Pathfinders.
There is still much we do not know about discrimination of the Sami people, including discrimination on social media and the need for support among those subjected to discrimination. Evidence about measures against harassment and discrimination is limited, and there is a need for more evidence about what works and not in combating harassment and discrimination of the Sami people.
Summary
Introduction
In Norway, the Sami people were subjected to an extensive assimilation policy, with the intent of assimilating them into Norwegian society. From the mid-1800s until about late 1960s, they were considered an alien people, often characterized as uncivilized, and a policy towards the Sami marked by racist attitudes and notions of racial hierarchy was pursued. For decades, this policy has contributed to legitimizing the discrimination of the Sami in Norway. Similar stories of abuse against the Sami and their lives, health, and rights occurred also in Sweden and, to some extent, in Finland. Although this policy has been abandoned, negative attitudes and lack of recognition of the Sami language and culture prevail.
A number of population-based surveys conducted in Sami areas, covering health and living conditions, show that more people with Sami background report being subjected to violence, harassment, and discrimination, and they report a higher prevalence of chronic ailments and diseases, compared to the general population.
The Norwegian government is now developing a dedicated action plan against harassment and discrimination of the Sami people. Mapping and describing the research in this area can contribute to the evidence, help prioritize areas of action and develop interventions.
Objective
The objective of this rapid review was to map and describe the research on harassment and discrimination of the Sami people in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The rapid review aims to highlight the challenges and identify areas in need of more research.
Method
In this rapid review, we conducted a comprehensive literature search for studies published between 2014 and 2024. Two team members independently assessed titles and abstracts and assessed relevant studies in full text. We summarized information about the studies and their results narratively, assessed the findings across the studies, and described commonalities. Publications with information about interventions to combat harassment and discrimination against the Sami people were listed in separate tables.
Results
This rapid review mapped the research on harassment and discrimination of the Sami in Norway, Sweden, and Finland published during 2014-2024, and examined the extent and consequences of such harassment and discrimination. We included a total of 32 studies: 19 from Norway, eight from Sweden, and four from Finland, while one study used data from both Norway and Sweden. Of the included studies, 16 were qualitative, 13 were cross-sectional, and three used a mixed methods design. All in all, the studies included about 76,500 participants, of which about 18,500 (24%) reported having some form of Sami affiliation or background.
The results show that discrimination against the Sami remains a widespread problem occurring across various societal arenas. The 15 studies that investigated the extent of discrimination found significantly higher rates of discrimination, violence, threats, and bullying against the Sami, across all age groups, compared to the general population. Sami men and women with strong Sami affiliation reported the highest levels of discrimination, particularly those living in Sami minority areas. Additionally, it appears that Sami people with double minority status (Sami LGBTQ+ individuals, Sami with disabilities), Sami with distinct Sami characteristics, or those in traditional Sami occupations (e.g., reindeer herders) experience more discrimination than other Sami.
Study participants reported that the most common areas they face harassment and discrimination are in their local communities, at school, and in the workplace. Many Sami also reported experiencing indignities in interactions with public services, healthcare, and social services, on the internet, and in everyday life.
The results from the 19 qualitative studies showed that Sami in Norway, Sweden, and Finland experience harassment and discrimination at both structural and individual levels. Harassment and discrimination negatively affect their physical and mental health, daily lives, and well-being. They find that the broader society still has little knowledge of the Sami language and culture, particularly in educational institutions and within healthcare services: teachers, professionals, and healthcare personnel lack the necessary competence. This results in many Sami people experiencing poorer treatment compared to the majority population, and some say they therefore avoid seeking help. They find that both historical and current discrimination lead to a lack of trust in healthcare services, which can negatively impact their health.
Several informants in the studies from Norway have experienced oppression and trauma due to the assimilation policy they were subjected to. Participants in studies from Sweden and Finland reported similar experiences. The lack of Sami language in schools means that some Sami do not master their own language, making it difficult to fit into the Sami community and leading to feelings of marginalization or exclusion. Furthermore, many explained that experiences of prejudice and harassment feel like emotional violence. Many choose not to speak openly about their Sami background at school, in interactions with health- and social services, and in their local community, in order to protect themselves from harassment and discrimination. Some have internalized the discrimination, feeling ashamed of being Sami and feeling inferior.
In the last ten years, many interventions have been proposed to combat harassment and discrimination against the Sami. We identified 84 proposed interventions in 18 publications, most of which are in strategies and action plans against discrimination of the Sami. However, very few interventions have been implemented. We found only one intervention that has been evaluated during the period 2014-2024: the "Sami pathfinders" project from Norway, which aims to improve students' attitudes towards the Sami. Sami pathfinders were interviewed about their experiences with the project, but this evaluation does not provide information on whether it affected students' attitudes towards the Sami as intended.
Discussion and conclusion
A strength of this rapid review is the thorough and systematic literature search, as well as the paired, independent assessments of the relevance of the studies. Although we may have missed studies using other terms for Sami, harassment, and discrimination, we consider it likely that we have identified the most relevant studies.
Although the Sami in Norway, Sweden, and Finland have been subjected to somewhat different minority policies in their respective countries, we consider it likely that the findings and results presented in this rapid review are transferable to a Norwegian-Sami context. Our findings support this, as results from the three countries point in the same direction and the Sami seem to have similar experiences across all three countries.
Due to the time frame for this rapid review, we did not assess the risk of bias or methodological limitations of the studies, nor our confidence in the documentation of synthesized results. We are therefore cautious in assessing the results’ implications for practice. Nonetheless, based on our findings, a few aspects can be highlighted. Since 2014, many interventions have been proposed in reports, action plans, and strategy documents, but few have been implemented or evaluated, limiting the knowledge of which interventions are effective. There is a need to ensure that interventions are initiated and systematically evaluated. Discrimination often occurs in local communities, at school, workplaces, and on public transport, requiring local and regional measures. Particularly vulnerable groups, such as Sami with disabilities, may need extra efforts.
There is a need for more in-depth knowledge about the profound consequences of harassment and hate speech against the Sami on the internet. There is also a need for more research on discrimination against Sami boys and men, as well as the consequences for Sami women subjected to violence and discrimination. Furthermore, studies are needed to examine harassment and discrimination against Sami children and young people, especially on the internet. More knowledge about discrimination within leisure and cultural arenas, as well as primary industries such as fishing, forestry, and reindeer herding, would be useful. There is a great need for knowledge about which interventions work and which do not, to combat harassment and discrimination against the Sami. Measures aimed at combating harassment and discrimination of the Sami should be initiated and evaluated.
