Shared accommodation to be permanent practice from beginning of next year

On 14 December 2023, the Government issued a new decree amending the Act on Voluntary Military Service for Women. By this decree, the shared accommodation of conscripts and women performing voluntary military service is made a permanent practice in the brigade-level units and other units of the Defence Forces and the Border Guard.

Participation in shared accommodation will continue on a voluntary basis, and consent to shared accommodation is required from everyone in the same accommodation space. In addition, a person who consents to shared accommodation may withdraw their consent at any time. Shared accommodation only applies to accommodation in barracks, and washing and other sanitary facilities remain separate for men and women.

Started in 2020, the shared accommodation experiment aims to respond to the problems in the flow of information, fear of being excluded from the group and lack of group cohesion, as experienced by women performing military service. Shared accommodation has met the objectives set for it, and the experiences of shared accommodation have mainly been positive.

This arrangement has improved group cohesion, smoothness of military service and flow of information in particular, and made the use of premises more efficient. Shared accommodation is also seen to promote the equal treatment of those performing military service. The majority have felt positive about shared accommodation throughout the experiment, and it has been hoped that the practice will continue.

- Shared accommodation has proved to be an effective practice that promotes equality and improves the smoothness of service, says Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.

The decree will enter into force at the beginning of 2024.

Inquiries: Adviser for Legal Affairs Alberto Guidastri, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 043.