Finnish government axes culture ethics committee proposal

Ministry asks artists to regulate themselves, leaving universities sidelined in harassment debate

Antti Kurvinen, Finland’s minister of science and culture, has asked the culture sector to develop and enforce its own ethical principles and guidelines for the future, refusing to set up an independent committee on the issue.

The proposal to create a Finland-wide ethics committee for the arts, staffed by academics and artists, was made as part of a growing debate on sexual harassment and other unethical behaviour among artists, authors and actors. Last year Jukka Liedes, a jurist and former government official, published a report outlining the potential creation and scope of an ethical body for the culture sector, staffed by independent experts.