This week marks the start of CSW62, the sixty-second session of United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York, USA. The theme of this year’s meeting is women and girls in rural areas.

For ten days, representatives from participating countries are meeting to review the progress being made on gender equality, identify challenges and formulate strategies.

NIKK has produced a film that illustrates problems and offers possible solutions based on the Nordic context. This film will be followed by a discussion, organised by the Nordic Council of Ministers, by a panel of experts on the first day of the conference. The purpose of the discussion is to explore possible solutions to the issues facing rural communities, namely women and men moving from rural areas, partly due to the lack of opportunities in education, employment and influence. As part of the film, maps have been produced by the Nordic institution Nordregio that show migration flows, access to jobs, education and care in the Nordic region, and how these affect the rural population.

Among other things, these maps show that it is mostly young people moving from rural areas to cities. This has consequences in terms of welfare, since an ageing population makes welfare difficult to maintain in the long term. This primarily affects women, who take on most of the responsibility of caring for children and the elderly when the public sector falls short. Mothers and children are also affected by the long distances to childbirth centres.

These maps also highlight the fact that it is primarily young women moving to cities. These women often move to cities for their studies due to the lack of educational opportunities closer to home. The dearth of skilled jobs in rural areas also means that more women choose to stay in cities after they finish their degrees. Access to education also affects men living rurally. Where there is access to higher education, more men also pursue higher levels of education.

Possible strategies for getting more people to live in rural areas or to encourage them to move to them include investments in local education institutions, as well as reducing gender segregation in the labour market in order to create more job opportunities.

Feminists demanding change across national boundaries is hardly a new phenomenon. However, the emergence of social media has made collaboration easier and the potential impact stronger. According to Emma Severinsson, PhD student in history at Lund University, Sweden, the testimonies and calls for action connected with the #MeToo campaign are classic features of how the feminist movement has operated throughout history.
‘It has always been risky to make these types of accusations in public. That’s why women join forces, then they can’t be ignored. But the sheer number of women involved this time hasn’t been seen for a very long time,’ she says.
Sweden is the Nordic country where the #MeToo has had the greatest impact. Well-known TV and radio show hosts, journalists and politicians have been publicly accused and fired. More than 60 000 women have come together and demanded change in their respective sectors. The biggest call for action, #utantystnadsplikt, gathered more than 10 000 female doctors. Severinsson believes that the impact of the campaign has been particularly strong in Sweden because there was already an infrastructure in place.
‘The gender equality work in Sweden has benefitted from broad political support for the last 15 years. We have a feminist political party that has put pressure on all the other parties to increase their focus on feminist issues. In addition, gender research holds a relatively strong position in Sweden, compared with for example Denmark,’ she says.
According to Severinsson, the culture of silence in the feminist movement had already been eliminated. The #MeToo campaign has been about eliminating the culture of silence in the rest of society, too. What she finds most remarkable about the campaign is its magnitude, or the fact that it has become so widespread and has engaged such a large number of women who had never been involved in the past.
‘I think this is because the campaign in Sweden has been so strongly connected to the workplace, as this makes it possible to hold specific individuals and employers accountable,’ says Severinsson.

Iceland: Call for Action by Women with Migrant Backgrounds

In Iceland, the #MeToo campaign is still in full swing. Fourteen calls for actions have been made in various sectors, and more are coming, according to Fríða Rós Valdimarsdóttir, who works at Iceland’s Centre for Gender Equality. First out were more than 400 female politicians who listed violations they had had to endure as active politicians, including rape threats. The cultural workers soon followed suit.
‘The calls for action have made front page news. They have also led to the firing of many perpetrators,’ says Fríða Rós Valdimarsdóttir. She is part of a network for the administrators of calls for actions as the chair of Iceland’s largest women’s rights organisation. The network was created to, help facilitate sharing of experiences and support and to nurture the solitarity that has been enforced with the #metoo movement.
In contrast to other Nordic countries, women with migrant backgrounds have published their own manifesto in Iceland. Testimonies combine both sexism and racism.
‘Their stories make the deepest impression. One woman described being attacked from behind while working as a cleaner. A man stuffed a rag in her mouth and then raped her. Afterward, he left her a envelope with money and a note saying that he had always wanted to have sex with a foreign woman.’

Representatives from the migrant group have also been invited to Iceland’s most popular prime time talk show and participated at Iceland’s feminist forum. Fríða Rós Valdimarsdóttir says that the calls for action have had a dramatic impact on Icelandic society.
‘#MeToo has changed everything. Because of the campaign, sexual harassment is now taken seriously in Iceland.’

She also says that the campaign has had political effects. Because of #MeToo, Iceland’s government has invested money in strengthening the legal security in connection with sex crimes. The minister of health has issued guidelines for how organisations and government agencies should handle cases of sexual harassment.
‘Ministers are also discussing with each other how the system for dealing with sexual harassment can be reinforced.’

Denmark: Vast Media Coverage

In Denmark, the #MeToo campaign really took off in connection with reports of misconduct by film producer Peter Aalback Jensen at Zentropa film company. His treatment of some colleagues has attracted a lot of attention. In a next step, calls for action were published where female classical singers, female academics and women in the film and performing arts sector joined forces and presented testimonies of a culture of violations. In the words of the classical singers, ‘Male star soloists, conductors and instructors are declared geniuses and their unwelcome advances, violations and lude remarks downplayed and whitewashed in Denmark, too.’

According to Christian Groes, associate professor at Roskilde University’s Centre for Gender, Power and Diversity, the #MeToo campaign has received an enormous amount of media attention in Denmark, although there have been relatively few concrete calls for action. He says that the campaign has divided Danish men into two camps: those who ridicule and those who support the initiative. For example, three Danish comedians mocked the female classical singers who had come forward by making up what they called their #hetoo campaign and talking on primetime TV about being molested by young women who had wanted their bodies.

‘But the testimonies have been a wakeup call to many men. They’ve been shocked by the women’s stories. The fact that many men are silent may mean that they are listening,’ he says.

In Denmark, there have been discussions about whether or not it is okay to publish the names of alleged perpetrators. According to Groes, there has been a tendency for men to want to protect other men. Personally, he believes that the publication of names fills an important function.
‘It helps transfer the stigma from the victim to the offender. If it doesn’t cost anything to sexually harass somebody, things will never change. Men have to become afraid of the consequences.’

It is important that the discussion continues, says Groes.
‘Now we men need to move on, think and talk about what we can do.’

Finland: Linking to Power Structures

In Finland, the media have unveiled the behaviour of several individuals in high places. There too, some men were quick to ridicule the campaign and testimonies. But according to Katju Aro, chair of Finland’s Feminist Party, the campaign soon regained its momentum and has contributed to substantial change in Finnish society.
‘People in Finland have become more aware of the situation. There is a before and an after #MeToo, and it’s not over yet.’

She says that the #MeToo in Finland has gone through several phases. The first comprised the sharing of personal testimonies, then came the ridiculing and the last phase consisted of the calls for action and the linking to power structures. According to Aro, something happened to the debate when the first call for action was published. In a call titled #dammenbrister, more than 6 000 Finland-Swedes shared experiences of sexual harassment. Several other calls for action soon followed, including a broad Finnish #MeToo that gathered all types of testimonies. This will now be turned into a book.
‘The difference between Finland and Sweden is that we don’t talk much about the workplace. The debate has a stronger focus on sexual harassment in the public space, such as at bars, and within couples.’

In Finland, the #MeToo campaign has contributed to a legislative proposal on a consent law has moved forward. It has also been debated in the Finnish parliament how the systems should be changed in order to prevent sexual harassment. However, Aro is missing a discussion about the consequences that should be imposed on men who sexually harass women. At present, there is a focus on the perpetrator’s perspective, on whether it really is right to make the identity of these individuals public.
‘But when we discuss this issue, we must not forget the damage that the offenders have inflicted on their victims. The victims may have dropped out of their studies or careers because of the harassment. The violations may have lifelong effects on them,’ says Aro.

Norway: Scandals in Politics

In Norway, #MeToo scandals have caused a big stir in politics. Cases of sexual harassment have been revealed in all political parties, with the biggest problems found in the Labour Party. But testimonies of violations have also surfaced in the Conservative Party and the Progress Party.
‘There has been a strong focus on individuals, but also on the handling of cases by the party managements. When it comes to the Labour Party, it has also been discussed how this will affect the party,’ says Helga Eggebø, sociologist and public debater.
The #MeToo campaign has been a big discussion topic, with several calls for action and testimonies that have shaken up various sectors. In late October, women demonstrated in front of the parliament in Oslo. According to a survey by media analysis company Retriever, the #MeToo campaign was the subject of 1 700 newspaper articles published over the course of just over a month, in October–November.

Eggebø is surprised by the impact of the campaign. At the same time, she thinks there is too little talk about what to do next. There has been a lot of engagement from underneath, but the support from above has been lacking, she says. According to Eggebø, this may be because the politicians lack tools, or a structure, for implementing gender equality policy.
‘The willingness to acknowledge #MeToo as a structural problem and talk about revisions of laws and structures hasn’t really been there. One example of this is our Minister of Fisheries, who voiced the opinion that women just need to slap the perpetrator!’

Overall, however, Eggebø is thrilled about the enormous mobilisation that has taken place.
‘Who would have thought that something like this could happen in this day and age?’

Young people’s experiences of prostitution are often gained well out of sight and usually outside the traditional arenas for prostitution. Existing support measures do not seem to reach this group and there is an urgent need to learn more about young people’s experiences of having sex for money, for example to be able to prevent sexual exploitation. At the request of the Nordic Council of Ministers, NIKK will now shed light on the situation in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The project will be coordinated by Charlotta Holmström, sociologist who has done research on topics such as prostitution policy and sexual vulnerability at the Centre for Sexology and Sexuality Studies, Malmö University.

‘The project aims to compile existing knowledge about young people who have had sex for money. Another aim is to bring clarity to which actors in society are acknowledging and working with this issue, and what the legislation looks like in the different Nordic countries. Previous research shows among other things that the first experiences of selling sex are often gained during the teenage years, and that young people who engage in this behaviour belong to a vulnerable and risk-taking group. The experiences of sex for pay can at the same time vary depending on context, continuity and reasons for selling sex. Previous research also shows that young people’s experiences of selling sex are not always gained in traditional arenas for sex trade, and the provision of sexual services is often part of a bartering arrangement.

Young people rarely refer to their experiences of selling sex as prostitution. According to Holmström, this calls for particular sensitivity both from professionals who work with young people and from researchers in the field.

‘It affects the research on young people who sell sex because it makes it difficult to reach the group and gain knowledge about their experiences. It is therefore of particular importance to be careful with the concepts and perspectives that are used and applied in the research in this area. First and foremost, it is important to be sensitive and perceptive regarding the experiences adolescents gain and how they describe these experiences.’

Important Knowledge for Many Nordic Actors

In 2008, NIKK carried out a project called Prostitution in the Nordic Region, which compiled and analysed knowledge about social and legal interventions as well as attitudes to and experiences of sex for pay in the Nordic countries. Among other things, the project showed how the digital development and also the changed migration and mobility patterns have affected arenas and contact paths. The new project has a new focus, but Holmström believes that the same changes in society can be expected to play a central role this time as well.

‘The new project has a somewhat different focus than the project in 2008, as this time we will focus on adolescents specifically. I believe, though, that these aspects still have a strong impact on the arenas and the way contacts are made. Previous research shows this, too. It is particularly interesting to determine to what extent adolescents’ vulnerability and experiences of selling sex can be related to the digital development, but also to migration and mobility patterns.’

Wants to Identify Differences and Similarities

The project started in February this year, and NIKK will present a report compiling and analysing the available knowledge on young people’s experiences of prostitution in the autumn of 2019. The report is expected to contribute important knowledge for many different Nordic actors.

‘Nordic actors can benefit from the results as we will now be able to compile and present the available knowledge on young people who sell sex in all Nordic countries. We want to shed light on differences and similarities based on the existing knowledge, but also recognise which social interventions are offered to this group and how the legislation concerning young people who sell sex is designed and applied in the different Nordic countries. This is important knowledge for actors who interact with young people in their work, for example in social work, healthcare, law enforcement and the school system, but also for actors involved in policy development,’ says Holmström.

The core task of Nordic Information on Gender, which usually goes by its Nordic acronym NIKK, is to gather and disseminate research, policy, knowledge and practice in the area of gender equality in the Nordic region.

‘Over the years, NIKK has proven to be a strong cooperative body with far-reaching expertise in the areas of gender equality and gender equality work in the Nordic countries. By extending the assignment, we want to contribute to an even more long-term approach that will make a difference and bring us closer to the goal of gender-equal Nordic cooperation,’ says Julia Fäldt Wahengo, senior adviser at the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Next, the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research and the Nordic Council of Ministers will initiate a dialogue regarding the most effective plan for the next four years. A new programme for the Nordic gender equality cooperation will also be developed this year and go into effect in 2019.

‘The cooperation programme will be drawn up for the next four years, so we also want to enable the central role of NIKK in the implementation of the programme and contribute in a more long-term way than would have been possible with a shorter assignment contract,’ says Fäldt Wahengo.

‘The Nordic cooperation is fun and exciting. The Secretariat has a long tradition of Nordic collaborations in the area of gender research. Hosting NIKK adds another dimension to the Secretariat. It gives us a better perspective on the Swedish gender equality work. We tend to believe that the Nordic countries do pretty much the same things, while the truth is that the they often differ significantly. And NIKK’s motto, that “shared knowledge makes a difference”, is definitely true here and in many other areas,’ says Kerstin Alnebratt, director of the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research.

The LGBTQ organisation ILGA Europe has ranked the European countries based on laws and policies in various areas with a direct impact on the human rights of LGBTQ persons. Only one Nordic country, Norway, can be found in the top portion of the list, in second place after Malta. Finland and Denmark place 7th and 8th, and Sweden and Iceland 12th and 16th. Daníel E. Arnarsson, head of Icelandic LGBTQ organisation Samtökin ’78, is not surprised.

‘Our politicians think we are so progressive they have forgotten to reform our laws. Not much has happened in the last 10 years when it comes to LGBTQ rights in Iceland,’ he says.

In contrast to the other Nordic countries, Iceland does not have a law against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

‘Our constitution does say that all people have equal value, but this very general protection is insufficient in a court situation. We want to see explicit protection against workplace discrimination of LGBTQ persons.’

Iceland also lacks protection of LGBTQ persons in the national hate crime legislation, which means that an offence cannot be considered more serious if somebody is victimised due to sexual orientation or gender identity. Asylum issues is another area where Iceland ranks poorly. According to Arnarsson, persecution due to sexual orientation or gender identity is not an acceptable ground for asylum in the present asylum legislation. He feels that although Icelandic policymakers have a positive attitude to LGBTQ issues, there is little concrete action. Another problem is that Iceland’s LGBTQ organisation is underfunded.

‘We don’t have enough resources to advance the development and do everything we want. Right now we have only two employees, and most of our time is spent disseminating information at schools and hosting support groups.’

Norway’s New Gender Recognition Law Is Effective

Norway ranks higher than any other Nordic country and also significantly higher than in the previous Rainbow Europe ranking. This can partly be attributed to the country’s new gender recognition law, adopted in 2016. In the past, people who wanted to change their legal gender first had to be surgically sterilised and medically diagnosed as transsexual. The new law has removed these requirements. Norway is the fourth European country that has adopted a gender recognition legislation that is based on each individual’s right to self-determination.

‘This is a law that we have fought long and hard for. It is an important milestone for our organisation,’ says Ingvild Endestad, chair of Norway’s largest LGBTQ organisation, the National Association for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender People – FRI.

According to Endestad, the law gives trans persons the right to decide over their own bodies and gender identity. It also enables trans persons to become parents, as the sterilisation requirement no longer applies.

‘The law allows for sex reassignment therapy to enable a person to become one of the two genders. However, Norway still does not have a third gender category for those who don’t identify themselves as a man or a woman. That’s an issue we will continue to work on.’

Norway has had established LGBTQ organisations in place since the 1950s. FRI receives both state and municipal funding for its operations. Endestad believes that these are important preconditions for the ability to achieve change. At the same time, she wants to point out that the Rainbow Europe ranking does not give the whole truth.

‘The ranking shows how far we have come with laws and policies, but not how these are being implemented in real life, and it doesn’t say anything about general attitudes. Norwegian society remains characterised by the hetero- and cis norms. We need to change these attitudes and try to increase the tolerance in society.’

Strong LGBTQ Movement in Malta

Malta tops the ranking, which includes 49 different countries. This may seem unexpected, considering that the island nation prohibits abortions and is generally seen as conservative when it comes to sexual and reproductive health and rights. According to Emma Cassidy from ILGA-Europe, one explanation is that Malta benefits from a strong LGBTQ movement that has gained the respect of policymakers.

‘This collaboration has been a clear success factor in Malta. It has led to rapid legislative changes,’ she says.

Malta, too, has passed a progressive gender recognition law, which among other things prohibits the performance of unwanted medical procedures on intersex persons. Intersex persons are often physically altered as children to make them fit into the binary gender model. This is standard procedure in several Nordic countries, based on the assessment of a doctor, even if the interventions are not wanted or medically justified.

Cassidy says that the Nordic countries were forerunners in the LGBTQ field ten years ago. But the launching of new reforms has slowed down since then.

‘At this point, some laws need to be updated. The Nordic countries shouldn’t define themselves based on past achievements,’ says Cassidy.

’There is a lot of talk about encouraging young people to make untraditional career choices. There have for example been numerous projects to make girls more interested in fields like science and technology, but I think there is a need for other approaches as well. If these people start working and don’t feel comfortable in the work environment, they won’t stick around,’ says Gunilla Rooke at the Swedish National Agency for Education.
She is the Swedish coordinator of a project titled ’Gender equality in workplace-based learning in the Nordic countries’. The project involves various actors from Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Åland and has received funding from the Nordic Gender Equality Fund. The goal is to identify which methods are being used to support students, and to provide tools that can be implemented in the gender equality work carried out in upper secondary vocational education.

How was the conference?
’It was great! There were lots of people there from both schools and various other sectors, so I’m happy.’

The project focuses on how students can be supported when they do their workplace training. Why is the support so important at that particular point?
’The first experience in an actual workplace can be a bit shocking. They perceive the school environment as fairly permissive, but some sectors really have a long way to go when it comes to attitudes and the work environment. Girls may start working at a construction site where changing rooms are either lacking or decorated with pictures of naked women. And boys pursuing a career in health care or preschool education may encounter a culture where they are marginalised and treated with suspicion. If these students are important to us, we need to find ways to support them so that they don’t give up. This is a challenge to both schools and employers.’

What can teachers and other school staff do?
‘When teachers contact employers to plan the workplace training, it is important to discuss whether the work environment is characterised by a certain culture or jargon, as well as what the school expects. As a vocational teacher, you also need to prepare the students for what they may come across in the workplace and give them strategies to handle it. You need to be there so that they feel they have somebody to talk to if there are problems.’

Do we know at this point which methods are effective?
’We know that there is a need for student support, but there is no coherent knowledge about the best way to do it. We hope that the project will fill this gap. Unfortunately, not much is being done to deal with this issue in a systematic way, but some sectors and schools are actually doing a good job. For example, the transport sector has a Vocational Training and Working Environment Council, which works actively with attitudes related to how employers in the sector host students.’

Are there any differences among the Nordic countries in terms of the support students receive?
’Yes, I believe there are. At least there are some important structural differences. In Sweden and Finland, the schools are responsible for the students when they do their workplace training. In Iceland and Norway, this responsibility lies with the employers, which makes it more difficult for authorities to demand things.’

What will happen next in the project?
’This conference was held in Stockholm, and we will arrange another three conferences focusing on the other countries. We’ll be in Oslo next month and in Åland in September.’

The MeToo campaign shows that sexual harassment is a widespread problem in Nordic workplaces, despite being prohibited. Each Nordic country has several laws regulating the issue. The responsibility to create a work environment free from sexual harassment is mainly placed on employers. But how well does the legal protection really work?
Hugrún R. Hjaltadóttir works at the Icelandic Centre for Gender Equality (Jafnréttisstofa), which oversees employers’ gender equality plans. She believes that Iceland’s laws against sexual harassment in fact are good, and that the problem is rather that employers tend to be too passive.

‘We get calls about sexual harassment and know it’s going on, but the problem is that the employers don’t do anything. There is a need for more money to make employers better aware of how they should act. They need support in their prevention efforts.’

A new ordinance that went into effect in 2015 increased the pressure on employers to actively prevent sexual harassment. According to Hjaltadóttir, the ordinance needs to be followed up, both with resources and with regulations making the consequences tougher for non-compliers.

‘Employers that violate the law should face direct financial consequences, or else there is no incentive to prioritise these issues,’ she says.

Greatest Impact in Sweden

Sweden is the Nordic country where the MeToo campaign has had the strongest impact. Sweden also places the highest demands on employers when it comes to preventive work. Since 1 January 2017, Swedish employers have been required to take active measures to prevent discrimination and promote equal rights. The national non-discrimination act urges employers to actively examine the presence of sexual harassment in the workplace, for example by paying attention to jargon and checking the work environment for offensive pictures.
Caroline Bleichner, gender scholar and legal adviser at the Vision trade union, hopes that the legislative amendment will add fuel to the development in the area.

‘This law requires employers to be active. It has good intentions and also gives trade unions the right to information about an employer’s work in the area. Many of the testimonies that have surfaced in the MeToo campaign are about things that have happened in the past, I hope that the law will lead to changes.’

According to Bleichner, the MeToo campaign shows that many employers have problems dealing with these issues, but also that many victims find it difficult to speak up.
‘As we live in a patriarchy, victims are often treated with suspicion, which makes it even harder to start a process.’

She believes that the local section of the union plays an important role in offering support, both when someone is violated and when it comes to the prevention work.
‘If the employer does not comply with the law, the union can get involved and take appropriate action. One problem when evaluating an employer’s efforts, however, is that the law doesn’t say anything about the required quality of the work. It does require employers to implement active measures, but fails to require a certain quality of the work.’

Focusing on the Employer’s Responsibility

In all Nordic countries, the legislation focuses on the employer’s responsibility when it comes to sexual harassment. A person who touches a colleague’s buttocks or comments on her breasts rarely faces any consequences. In Norway, the national equality and anti-discrimination ombudsman handles complaints of discrimination and harassment. People can report harassment related to the established grounds for discrimination, such as ethnicity and sexual orientation, to the ombudsman, but not sexual harassment. Helga Eggebø, Norwegian sociologist and social commentator, argues that this should be changed.

‘The legal protection for victims of sexual harassment is extremely weak in Norway. If the equality and anti-discrimination ombudsman also administered and investigated sexual harassment, the system would become more legally secure. The most obvious change would be that sexual harassment would be equated with and administered as other forms of harassment,’ she says.

It would also contribute to important case law on sexual harassment in the workplace, which is currently missing in Norway, according to Helga Eggebø.
‘The present situation is not sustainable. The requirements imposed on employers exist only on paper. Nobody is monitoring them or ensuring that they really work proactively with this issue.’

What Do You Think Is Needed in Order for Employers to Do a Better Job?
‘The requirement for employers to work against sexual harassment should be designed more like strict environmental requirements, where employers have to undergo certain procedures to be compliant.’

Two years ago, Iceland became the first Nordic country to present a government bill that if passed would entitle childless people to altruistic surrogacy services through the public healthcare system. The bill was backed by a majority in the country’s parliament.

‘Since then, we have had two government crises, so the issue has not received much priority,’ says Hrefna Friðriksdóttir, law scholar at the University of Iceland.

Swedish government inquiry proposed stricter rules

Although Iceland is the only Nordic country that has presented a concrete government bill on surrogate parenthood, it has been on the political agenda elsewhere as well. In contrast to Iceland, a Swedish government inquiry presented last year recommended stricter regulation. At present, surrogacy is not regulated in Swedish law and the inquiry suggested that it should not be allowed. The inquiry also proposed tougher rules to make it more difficult for Swedes to travel abroad for surrogacy treatment.
‘I’m very curious about what these rules would look like, because it’s really hard to regulate these things,’ says Hrefna Friðriksdóttir.

Feminist movement divided

According to Hrefna Friðriksdóttir, all Nordic countries consider the issue of surrogacy to be extremely complex.

‘There are several opposing interests involved,’ she says.

In Iceland, the strongest political support for allowing surrogacy is found on the right wing, but the parties are divided on the issue. The situation is the same in the other Nordic countries, and there is also disagreement among various government bodies. For example, the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics is positive to surrogacy, while the government inquiry from 2016 is against it. Disagreement can also be found in the feminist movement. If we allow surrogate parenthood, we also allow exploitation of poor and vulnerable women, say the opponents. Altruistic surrogacy is described as an impossible path since it cannot be guaranteed that surrogate mothers have not been subject to pressure.

‘In the other camp are those who are provoked by the idea that women are incapable of making informed decisions about their own bodies,’ says Hrefna Friðriksdóttir.

To add to the complexity, some of those who are fundamentally opposed to surrogate parenthood still want it to be allowed within the framework of the national healthcare system, to make it easier to control.

‘They argue that by offering the treatment here, it would be possible to carry out proper assessments and offer support,’ Hrefna Friðriksdóttir explains.

‘The desire for children is an extremely powerful driving force. It’s obvious that people are willing to travel abroad to get this service,’ she continues.

Legal vacuum in the Nordic countries

Surrogacy is not legally regulated in any of the Nordic countries. In Finland, treatments were offered though the public healthcare system until 2007. Some 20 treatments were provided before a law prohibiting the method was adopted. Since then, no Nordic country has actively offered surrogacy treatments through the publically funded healthcare sector, although private arrangements where the surrogate mother lets the intended parent adopt the baby after the delivery remain allowed.

‘Such arrangements are very difficult to regulate, if anybody would want to do so,’ says Hrefna Friðriksdóttir.

Surrogacy is not illegal in any Nordic country, but some countries make private arrangements difficult. For example, it seems to be easier for prospective parents to get their parenthood approved in Sweden than in Iceland. In Sweden, there have been several cases where couples who have had a child with the assistance of a surrogate mother abroad have been legally recognised as parents after returning to Sweden. In Iceland, a case where the court chose the opposite path recently received a lot of attention. A prospective mom was not recognised as a parent because the child had been born by a surrogate mother and had no genetic ties to her.

‘This of course leads to an uncertain situation for that child,’ says Hrefna Friðriksdóttir.

‘The discussion is not over’

According to Hrefna Friðriksdóttir, the child’s perspective is of central importance in the national debates on surrogate parenthood.

‘The politicians have an ambition to base their decisions on what’s best for the child, but it is difficult to determine what that is,’ she says.

The available research shows that children born via surrogacy generally do well and grow up in stable and safe family environments, but research on the more long-term effects is lacking, says Hrefna Friðriksdóttir. She also highlights the risks of not having effective legislation in place, such as in the Nordic countries. Such absence of legislation leads to a situation where children lack a legal guardian while their cases are dealt with in court. There have also been situations where children have been completely abandoned, as neither the surrogate mother nor the prospective parents have been willing to acknowledge them.

Both Iceland and the other Nordic countries are closely following the developments in Sweden in the wake of last year’s government inquiry, says Hrefna Friðriksdóttir. The final fate of the Icelandic government bill remains to be decided. If it is brought back to the discussion table, those who are against it will try to use the Swedish government inquiry to stop it, Hrefna Friðriksdóttir believes.
‘This discussion is far from over,’ she says.

Internationally, the Nordic countries are considered inspiring role models: a strong region that has invested in welfare solutions for all citizens. However, the political environment has changed in important ways since the welfare systems were established. Downsizing and restructuring of the public sectors have impacted both citizen services and the working conditions for staff, most of whom are women. Researchers have talked about a care crisis for many years. But what has this change looked like and how has it affected the gender equality in the Nordic countries? These are issues that will be examined by researchers in a project titled ‘A care crisis in the women-friendly welfare states? Gender (in)equality dynamics in the Nordic welfare states’ and funded by the Nordic Gender Equality Fund. The project will result in for example the publishing of a book and a dissemination conference for decision and policy makers.

Lise Lotte Hansen is associate professor at Roskilde University and contact person for the project. She believes that the development varies greatly across countries, regions and municipalities.

‘But there are some clear trends. For example, cutbacks in Danish elderly care have led to an increase in family-based care. The family-based care is generally carried out by women and thus affects the careers and health of women disproportionately: on average, they retire earlier, experience more stress and are more likely to work part time. Another aspect is that there is a lot of talk about men as a solution to the care crisis. More men should work in these professions when there are not enough hands to do the work. Men should also be more active at home, be on parental leave longer and so on, to relieve the women.’
How is the care crisis connected to gender equality?
‘This is an interesting debate, as the definition of equality varies among the countries. For example, in Sweden, the concept is expanded to include additional power structures. In Denmark, there is no distinct gender equality policy. Instead, some general reforms, like the introduction of public childcare, have led to changes in the area of gender equality.’

Overall, the Nordic countries have seen it as important to enable people to combine family life with a career. But the question is how long this will be possible considering the increasingly tough conditions in the labour market.
What are the benefits of Nordic cooperation on this issue?
‘The Nordic countries have a lot in common compared with the rest of the world. Common denominators include their strong public sectors and the presence of powerful organisations, in the form of both trade unions and non-profits. In this project, we will also discuss what resistance to the dismantling of the welfare sector we are seeing. The trade unions and civil society are strong forces. One interesting issue in this context is the sustainability of the Nordic welfare model, whether the Nordic countries are more resistant to this development than other countries in the world.’

On 1 January, Sweden took over the helm of the Nordic gender equality cooperation. According to Åsa Régner, the issue of men’s violence will receive thorough attention. For example, Sweden will organise a major international conference on men, masculinity and gender equality that will focus on preventive work. The event will target organisations, experts and policymakers.
‘In particular, we want to address the issue of how to involve boys and men, both in the anti-violence efforts and in the broader gender equality work.’

The presidency of the Nordic gender equality cooperation is rotated annually. All presidencies are based on a 5-year programme specifying which general themes are to be focused on, and then it is up to each country holding the presidency to create its own agenda based on the given theme. The active participation of men and boys in the gender equality work is one of the themes in the current 5-year plan. Violence is another recurring prioritised area. In 2016, the Finnish presidency focused on solutions to break the cycle of violence in intimate relationships. Norway took these efforts further in 2017 with a project dealing with the implementation of the Istanbul Convention.
‘This is a key Nordic issue that we will also address at the women’s conference in New York. The Nordic countries are active in this area and have a lot of experience to share.’

According to Åsa Regnér, the Nordic countries can enrich each other in this field. Men’s violence is a hot topic not least because of the MeToo campaign.
‘In Sweden, we have presented a new sex crime law that is based on the principles of voluntary participation and consent. I know that the other countries work in a similar way, I discuss this a lot with the other gender equality ministers. The MeToo campaign hasn’t looked quite the same in the different countries. It may also be interesting to discuss the reasons for this,’ she says.

Policy interventions to help foreign-born women enter the labour market

In the spring of 2018, the Swedish presidency will also arrange a conference on labour market participation, with a particular focus on foreign-born women. The underlying reason for the initiative is that women, and in particular women with immigrant background, have lower employment rates than men.

‘The aim of the conference is to discuss the obstacles to achieving the goal of gender equal participation in the labour market. What is being done in this area in the different countries, what the thoughts are about this issue and what tools have been effective,’ says Åsa Régner.
She mentions that Sweden has worked a lot with customised adult education and with the approach and attitudes of various public authorities. According to Åsa Regnér, all people must face the same demands and expectations, regardless of ethnic background, when it comes to work and participation in the labour force.
‘It shouldn’t be assumed that a woman from Syria who came here two years ago wants to be at home with her child. She should be considered an adult who wants to work and make a living just like everybody else in Sweden.’
According to Åsa Regnér, those who work in social and employment services should keep this in mind and ensure that women and men are treated as resources and not as ‘housewives’ and ‘breadwinners’.

Gender mainstreaming

Another issue that Åsa Régner thinks is important to highlight is how to advance the gender mainstreaming work. All the Nordic countries use gender mainstreaming as a strategy to achieve the nationally declared gender equality goals. In short, gender mainstreaming is a way to plan the work in an organisation so that no decision is ever made without prior consideration of the (im)balance in power between women and men.
‘In Sweden, we’re establishing a new gender equality agency because we think this work has produced results,’ says Åsa Régner.
This is an issue that the Swedish presidency wants to put on the table of the gender equality ministers.
‘We want to start a discussion. Do we believe this is the best way to push the gender equality work forward? Where do we go from here?’
What challenges do you see in the Nordic gender equality cooperation?
‘I don’t see a challenge between the countries, but in our need for self-reflection. The Nordic countries are rightly seen as good examples in terms of gender equality development, and they keep topping various gender equality rankings. However, it is important to look at ourselves from the outside, to realise that a lot of work remains, for example by the light of the MeToo campaign.
It’s about attitudes to women, the value of women and men in the labour market, and how to work against sexual harassment,’ says Åsa Régner.