Online violence is an immediate and growing problem in Denmark, Iceland and Norway; a problem with real and sometimes severe consequences to the health and life of survivors”, according to author of the report Ásta Jóhannsdóttir from The Icelandic Women’s Rights Association.

She concludes that it is imperative that the Nordic countries start taking this issue seriously by updating existing legislation on online violence.

What were the main motivations for engaging in a study of cross-Nordic cases of online violence against women?

’We wanted to study online violence against women in a Nordic context because online violence is transnational problem. We wanted to see if the problems that we were facing in Iceland were similar to the problems faced by other Nordic countries. We were also especially interested to find out if there were any innovative solutions to online violence that had been tested in any of the Nordic countries, solutions that we could in turn use to advocate for change in Iceland.’

In what ways have the reports revealed similarities in cases and support actions across the Nordic countries?

’All the participants in the study experienced anxiety, unexplained pains, lack of energy and fatigue due to their experience with online violence. The participants who had experienced online sexual violence reported more severe consequences. Participants of online sexual violence whose images had been shared online without their consent reported a fear of repetition of the crime and that photos or videos would materialize online repeatedly. In some cases, there were financial consequences to online violence, with some survivors were forced to quit their jobs or school and others having to pay legal costs and expenses for psychological treatment.’

’The study also showed a clear lack of faith in the justice system. The majority of women who had experienced online violence had not sought justice for violence, claiming that they did not see the point in seeking help or pressing charges since the system did not work. Survivors of online violence often reported that the police or authorities did not take them seriously. The police acknowledge that their response to online violence has not been optimal and claim that a lack of resources and priority taken to other crime is to blame for inaction in the field.’

What are the main key distinctions that were noticed when engaging in the studies across Denmark, Iceland and Norway?

’Our study was a small qualitative research comprised of interviews with survivors, interviews with police and interviews with representatives of legal aid organizations. We interviewed survivors of online violence and analyzed their experiences of the violence with a focus on their experiences seeking justice for and protection from that violence.’

’We found that the way the police handled their cases had a meaningful effect on survivors’ experience, whether they felt that they gained control over the situation or not. Most of the participants did not experience that justice was being done in their cases. However, we found that survivors in Norway were more satisfied with their interaction with the police than in Denmark or Iceland.’

What are the largest conclusions to be taken from the report?

’We need to clarify legislation on violence and sexual violence to incorporate online violence and offer the police and judicial system tools to deal with this violence. We need to change procedures and attitudes within the police force and make sure that survivors of online violence are taken seriously, with the crimes against them being investigated. We also need to educate the public, especially young people, about the seriousness of online violence and its impact on women’s participation in online spaces.’

In what ways do you think that the report – and Nordic cooperation in general – can impact the global conversation regarding online violence against women?

’We in the Nordic countries pride ourselves in our emphasis on gender equality and online violence against women is a gendered crime. According to the European Commission, one in ten women has experienced sexual harassment or stalking through new technologies, and online harassment can and has been used to drive women and women’s rights activists offline.

The Nordic countries are all fairly prosperous and technologically advanced. We should be in the forefront of fighting against online violence, creating solutions which can serve as an inspiration to others. We have the resources and knowledge available to us. Now, we just need to do it!’

In March, Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK) will once again accept applications for funding of Nordic gender equality cooperation. As in previous years, for a grant application to be approved, the proposed project must involve actors from at least three Nordic countries.
The granted activities must begin in autumn 2018 and be completed within two years. The money may for example be used to develop shared methods and new knowledge or to organise conferences and networks.

Three prioritised themes have been identified for the Nordic Council of Ministers’ gender equality fund: the public space, sustainable development, and welfare and innovation.

The projects granted funding last year include:

A care-crisis in the women-friendly welfare states?

A project that explores the status of work in care occupations in the Nordic countries against the background of the neoliberal turn in politics and how it affects gender equality.

Gender equality in workplace-based learning in the Nordic countries

A Nordic exchange of ideas and experiences that identifies methods currently used in workplace-based learning, shares them via network meetings and documents experiences online. The goal is to provide a tool that can be used in gender equality work in vocational education.

Gender- equal parenthood – gender equality in the labour market

This project explores the parental insurance systems in the Nordic countries and how they affect women’s paid work and men’s claiming of parental benefit. The results will be compiled in a report that will also include suggestions regarding how the system can be improved to increase gender equality.

Important dates

Applications must be submitted using the special application form that will be made available at nikk.no as soon as the call opens.

1. 1 March – Call opens
2. 31 March – Call closes
3. May – Funding decisions are communicated to the applicants
4. June – Contracts are signed

The first version of the website, which focuses on the role and importance of women in the film industry, was originally launched by the Swedish Film Institute in April 2016. It raises awareness about Swedish female filmmakers and film workers through in-depth articles, portraits, interviews, news and film clips. Within the framework of a project titled Women in Nordic Film History, funded with a grant from the Nordic Council of Ministers’ gender equality fund, the website will now be expanded with information about Norwegian and Danish women’s contributions in the film industry.

’The website is needed in order to counteract the marginalisation of women’s contributions in Nordic film in both history books and today’s cultural debate,’ says Ingrid Stigsdotter, project leader and researcher at the Section for Cinema Studies, Stockholm University.

Why have you chosen to focus on female film workers in Sweden, Denmark and Norway?

’We are hoping to eventually include Finland and Iceland as well so that the website will be a Nordic platform for research on women and film. We chose to initiate the cooperation in three languages, where the project participants and the online visitors can understand each other without a need for translation,’ says Ingrid Stigsdotter.

How is the website being built?

‘The project partners use their networks to contact freelance writers and researchers, who then contribute articles. The idea has been for the articles to feature photographers, screenwriters, directors, film editors and other film workers who have worked behind the camera. It’s all about acknowledging individuals who have made significant contributions without being very well known. Women have often found it easier to get jobs in areas with lower status, such as scenography and costume design. You can find many interesting names in those fields.’

Also within the framework of the project, public seminars are arranged in the three countries. The seminar in Oslo focused on the silent film era, and the one in Copenhagen on research about female screenwriters and actresses. In Stockholm on 20 November, the programme will include a presentation of a new gender equality report.

’The purpose of the seminars is to develop the cooperation among researchers in Sweden, Norway and Denmark so that they can contribute with material to the website about women in Nordic film history.’

Who is your target group?

’Anybody who is interested in film or gender equality issues. We also hope that researchers will use the website as a platform for dissemination of research findings.’

How gender equal is the Nordic film industry?

‘The industry is not gender equal. High-status domains such as film directing and photography remain male dominated. A very small share of female filmmakers work with productions that reach a larger audience.’

What are the key differences between the Nordic countries when it comes to women and film?

‘Historically, women became involved in the film industry later in Norway than in Denmark and Sweden, as the production of films started later in Norway. Today, there are more similarities than differences, but if you listen to the public debate in the three countries, you will hear a harder push for gender equality work in the form of government cultural policy in Sweden and Norway. In Denmark, there is a tradition of criticising targeted gender equality measures, such as gender quotas,’ says Ingrid Stigsdotter.

Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson called the conference a training camp:

“At Barbershop, men get the insight they need to play an active role in the debate on gender equality. Otherwise we’re just playing with half a team, with no hope of winning the match,” he said as he opened the conference.

He continued by clarifying that winning one match does not mean that the Nordic countries will remain best in the world when it comes to gender equality.

“We know what respect for women’s rights and women’s participation in the labour market has done for our well-being. And we want to be even better. But the ultimate goal is that every country achieves gender equality,” said Thordarson.

Women leaving Volvo

The concept of providing a forum for men’s debate on gender equality has been developed in Iceland and tested around the world on several occasions.

The first Barbershop conference, organised by the Nordic Council of Ministers and UN Women, took place in Copenhagen on 12 October.

Senior business figures, including Peter Grönberg from Volvo and Sari Brody from Ikea, took to the stage to talk about their companies’ systematic efforts relating to gender equality. Volvo has had problems with women disliking its corporate culture and leaving the company. All male senior managers are now undergoing training to create awareness of masculinity norms.

“We have to be creative if we want to be the best problem-solving company in the industry. The predominance of men in management teams isn’t especially creative; it’s more about maintaining hierarchies. We only become creative through mixed management teams and when people dare to be themselves. Many men in Volvo’s management team have said that receiving training in gender norms has changed their lives,” said Grönberg.

Counting is only the first step

Ikea, which employs 150,000 people in 29 countries, has the goal of achieving gender-equal management teams and equal pay for equal work by 2020.

“Once you have equality in numbers, you have only started your work. Because your real work is an inclusive culture. Our starting point is that gender equality is a fundamental human right,” said Brody.

One way for Ikea to work on its corporate culture is to offer paid parental leave to new mothers and fathers in countries like India, Japan, and the US, and to encourage men in particular to make use of this entitlement.

Bjarni Bjarnason, CEO of Reykjavik Energy, described the company’s hard work in successfully abolishing unjustified pay differences between women and men in the company – a process which began after Iceland’s banking crisis.

Equal pay standard used

The company has gone from an inappropriate 8.4 percent pay gap between women and men to a 1.1 percent gap.

“By the end of the year, we’ll be hovering around zero. We’ve also worked a lot on our corporate culture, with the benefit of higher productivity, more open decision-making processes, and better decisions as a result. All the cards are on the table and no one has a hidden agenda,” said Bjarnason.

Reykjavik Energy has been involved in developing the volontary standard for equal pay that now can be used by every major company in Iceland to abolish unjustified pay gaps. Iceland have introduced legislation requiring employers to prove they are paying men and women equally.

“The senior management has a duty to enforce gender equality,” concluded Bjarnason.

Klas Hyllander, an engineer and consultant who trains business leaders in gender equality, confirmed that it is important to put pressure on senior management teams in the corporate world.

“The situation in the private business sector is worse than other sectors – CEOs are underperforming. They’re failing to utilise the potential that exists within their companies. Companies which exclude large segments of the population prove expensive for society as a whole,” Hyllander said.

Girls in STEM, boys in social care

To enable companies to utilise their full potential – such as the high level of educational attainment of women – men must be responsible for half of unpaid work in the home,” said Gary Barker, founder of the organisation Promundo.

“The most important reason why women throughout the world pursue a career to a lesser extent than men is that they are more responsible for looking after their children and homes,” he said.

The foremost political priority is two-fold, says Barker: Educate all young people, regardless of gender, in being breadwinners and caregivers. And “force” new fathers to stay at home with their children.

“We spend a lot of time convincing girls that they can embark on a variety of technical training programmes, but how much time do we spend convincing boys to be caregivers, both professionally and privately?” he asked.

“Dad months” are effective

“For as long as the wage gap between women and men exists, and for as long as gender roles govern people’s lives so heavily, women will assume the lion’s share of caring for their children,” he argued. Consequently, parental leave should be fully paid and shared equally between both parents.

“Countries that pursue this will achieve gender equality more quickly. And the politicians who make such decisions will usually be re-elected,” said Barker.

The country’s feminist movement has participated in the election campaign with great intensity.

‘A lot of people are discussing gender equality issues at the moment, especially in relation to sexual harassment,’ says Rakel Adolphsdóttir.

However, the political parties have had an unexpectedly weak focus on gender equality, according to Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, political science researcher at the University of Iceland.

‘Gender equality issues have not received the level of attention I expected, although I suppose the parties on the left have raised the issue of domestic violence at a fairly high level and those on the right are talking about the gender wage gap more now than in the past,’ she says.

The present government not very impressive

Neither Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir nor Rakel Adolphsdóttir is very impressed by the present government when it comes to gender equality policy.
‘It will be difficult for the new government to focus less on gender equality,’ says Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir.
The government has received a lot of attention in international media for the new law on equal pay, which was pushed through by the Reform Party. However, the law has been in the works for several years and is hardly something the current government alone can take credit for, says Rachel Adolphsdóttir. Moreover, maybe the new law, which goes into effect at the turn of the year, has also been attributed a bit too much significance, Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir believes.

‘The law prohibits employers from paying different salaries to women and men for the same job, but it won’t affect the overall gender gap since it doesn’t do anything to challenge the gender segregation in the labour market,’ she says.

In order to close the gender pay gap, it is not enough to legislate against differences in pay between women and men with the same type of job; it is also necessary to deal with the pay gap between male- and female-dominated sectors, according to Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir. She hopes that the next government will focus on improving the salaries of the lowest paid female-dominated occupational groups such as preschool teachers, nurses and teachers.

‘Another important issue for the new government to address is the launching of an action plan against sexual violence and violence in intimate relationships,’ she says.

Only a year since the last election

When the polls open next weekend, only a year will have passed since the last general election, which was also an early election caused by the so-called Panama papers scandal. Back up ten years to the global financial crisis, which led to the Icelandic bank crash. The austerity package put in place after the crash was met by major demonstrations, and the government was pointed out as irresponsible.

‘The frailness of the government is a situation we are not used to,’ says Rakel Adolphsdóttir in regard to the last decade’s political crises.

The current scandal erupted at the end of the summer, when it was revealed that Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson’s father had written a letter recommending that a convicted sex offender should have his ‘honour restored’, which would have his criminal record erased. Initially, this was kept secret by the prime minister’s Independence Party, and when the scandal finally surfaced, another party, Bright Future, chose to leave the government, making it collapse.

Rakel Adolphsdóttir feels that the political crises have strengthened rather than weakened the feminist movement and the gender equality in the country.

‘10–20 years ago, it was much harder to reach through. I think we have become increasingly vocal,’ she says.

She hopes that the next government will make major investments in the welfare sector.

‘There is a lack of resources, especially in health care and education,’ she says.

‘Gender equality in health is a tricky subject because there are so many influencing factors. The amount of time you spend on leisure activities and on doing unpaid work at home will impact your health, and so will your work situation and economic conditions. So the question of how we should work to improve the gender equality in health is very complicated,’ says Zuzana Madarova from EIGE.

The statistics from the index showed that women outlive men on average, but that they spend more years dealing with health problems. The gender equality in health increased somewhat in Finland, Denmark and Sweden from 2005 to 2015, but some inequalities remain. One of those who has been involved in the work to reduce the gender differences, and who attended the conference in Brussels, is Sirpa Pietikäinen, Finnish member of the European Parliament.

‘First and foremost, everyone must have access to publicly funded health care. The right to abortion as well as information on reproductive health are other absolute necessities. We also need to ensure research on women’s diseases and that women are diagnosed correctly when seeing a doctor. For example, a woman who suffers a heart attack may experience symptoms that differ from those typically seen in males, and consequently she may end up being misdiagnosed,’ says Sirpa Pietikäinen.

The topics addressed during the panel discussion between Pietikäinen, Xavier Cabana-Monné, director general of the EU Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, and Vanessa Moore, researcher at the European Institute of Women’s Health, included the health of persons who do not identify themselves as a woman or a man.

‘There is a need for more knowledge about LGBT persons so that the current stigma can be avoided,’ says Sirpa Pietikäinen.

The panel was unanimous in its views of people with non-traditional gender identities, but as was the case for all speakers at the conference, this attitude was not reflected in the language used, as all discussions about gender only made reference to women and men.

‘There are no data, so they are never included in the statistics,’ Zuzana Madrova from EIGE explained.

How can the public sphere become a place for everyone? Despite progression in the Nordic countries, the public sphere is still not for everyone. Sexist advertising, the invisibility of certain groups in the media and online hate speech risk silencing many voices and limit the actions of certain individuals and groups.

For this reason, the theme of gender equality in the public sphere has been at the forefront of our assignment, and the Nordic Council of Ministers has subsequently decided to lift the topic in recent projects. The aim is to highlight particular areas in which inequality still prohibits individuals and groups and hinders gender equality in the Nordic region.

NIKK’s recently published fact sheet highlights three major obstacles to gender equality within the public sphere, based from reports published by actors within the Nordic cooperation.

Sexist advertising

Sexist advertising is one of the areas targeted in the fact sheet and is based from results originating in the original reported titled ‘Sexist Advertisement in the Nordic countries – An Evaluation of Regulations and Implementation’ published by The Swedish Women’s Lobby in 2016. One of the report findings show that Iceland takes the strongest lead of the Nordic countries in counteracting against sexist advertising, partly on the grounds of the ease of reporting violations. Individuals may highlight any form of sexist advertising by contacting the Centre for Gender Equality via telephone, email or online form submission.

Women in the media

Media representation is another area taken issue with in a following cooperative project titled ‘Women and men in the news: Report on gender representation in Nordic news content and the Nordic media industry’, published in 2017. The report’s findings show that women are generally unrepresented with the disparity between male to female coverage being heavily outweighed; women standing as just 24 percent of news subjects.

Click here to read the full report on women and men in the news.

Online hate speech and cyberbullying

The final highlighted report, ‘Online hate speech – review of the legal regulation in the Nordic countries from a gender equality perspective’, discusses limitations of freedom that exist for women in online environments. Online hate speech silences particular voices on the internet and therefore presents a threat to democracy and genuine freedom of expression for all in the public sphere.

Click here to read the full report on online hate speech.

The Youtheq conference is organised around five themes that are inspired by the goals set for Sweden’s national youth policy: education and learning, work and income, young people’s participation and representation, health and exposure, and recreation, culture and media.

‘There is a void when it comes to integrating a youth perspective into the ambitions associated with national gender equality policy. We tend to put a strong focus on gender equality during the adult period of life – as if gender inequality suddenly emerged in adulthood. By introducing gender equality issues early in life, young people can develop a gender equality awareness and bring it with them into adulthood,’ says Ann-Sofie Lagercrantz, municipal social sustainability strategist in Kalmar and member of Youtheq’s steering group and advisory council.

According to Ann-Sofie Lagercrantz, increased gender equality awareness in young people reduces the likelihood that they will choose educational paths and careers based on traditions.

‘Four of the 30 largest occupational groups in the Swedish labour market were quantitatively gender equal in 2014 – retail sales staff in specialty stores, cooks and cold-buffet managers, shop supervisors and upper-secondary teachers. Young people keep making the same choices as my generation did, and I’m middle aged. Gender continues to restrict people’s lives,’ she says.

Obvious participation

Over a hundred politicians, civil servants and representatives from municipalities, county councils, schools and non-profit organisations in the Nordic countries will attend the conference, which is funded by the municipality of Kalmar and the Nordic Council of Ministers’ gender equality fund.

‘The aim is for the participants to gain energy and new tools so that they can he

lp advance the gender equality among young people in the Nordic region,’ says Alexandra Winberg, project manager.

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society sees it as obvious that its representatives should attend the conference.

‘The event is a good opportunity to learn from other speakers and gain insight into how the other Nordic countries work with gender equality among young people. The conference is a good way to network and get introduced to new ways of thinking,’ says Lisa Onsbacke from the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society.

Onsbacke and her colleagues will participate in several conference sessions and will for example talk about how the youth perspective can be integrated into various activities and policy decisions.

The municipality of Kalmar is project owner for the conference, and the municipalities of Kristiansand in Norway, Kolding in Denmark and Mariehamn in Åland Islands are cooperation partners.

Why is there a need for a Nordic gender equality conference focusing on young people?

‘The Nordic countries are leaders in gender equality. Together, we can become even better. We also have a big responsibility to inspire and help advance the work in other parts of the world where the gender equality is getting worse, such as in Poland, where the right to abortion is being questioned,’ says Ann-Sofie Lagercrantz.

Has the gender equality among young people in the Nordic countries worsened?

‘The picture is not entirely clear. When it comes to representation and influence, progress is being made in various fields. At the same time, however, an increasing number of young women are falling victim to sex crimes,’ says Ann-Sofie Lagercrantz.

‘Young women feel terribly unsafe. Many of them are too afraid to walk home alone. Their personal space is being restricted,’ Alexandra Winberg adds.

How do young people in the Nordic countries feel about gender equality?

A large number of young activists and feminists are strongly involved in the struggle for gender equality. But there are also large groups of adolescents who think that the gender equality work has been finished, that it doesn’t concern them and that it is an issue older people have a problem with,’ says Ann-Sofie Lagercrantz.

A key task of the media is to reflect the diversity in society. However, research shows that there are great imbalances among the people who produce and distribute the news we consume. Today’s news media are dominated by men – including in the Nordic countries.

In addition, the share of decision-makers in the media sector who are women is far smaller than 50%, and women are also underrepresented as consulted experts in the news.

For example, did you know that in some Nordic countries, only one-fifth of those who are involved in the news media are women? And the presence of women in the news media seems to actually be decreasing rather than increasing. This knowledge needs to be disseminated so that more newsrooms become aware of the imbalance and of who gets to speak their mind in the news. This topic is addressed in one of the three films.

Watch it here.

Online hate speech, consiting of threats, harassment and sexist remarks on the internet, may silence many voices and is another important issue in the public space. Female journalists are particularly vulnerable. In fact, every third female editorial writer, columnist, editor-in-chief and commentator is thinking about quitting their jobs due to threats, intimidation and other forms of harassment.

This is a threat to the public debate and thus to the entire democratic system. For the first time ever, the Nordic national discrimination ombudsmen are currently working together in a fund project to end the online hate speech problem. Tougher legislation is one of their proposed solutions.

Watch the film here.

The objective of a gender-equal society is also counteracted by gender-stereotyped representations of women and men in the public space. Sexist advertising creates unrealistically narrow media images of women and men and the increasing sexualisation of the public space is restricting the range of role models that are available to girls and boys.

Nevertheless, Nordic businesses can continue to engage in sexist marketing schemes practically without risking any legal consequences. Therefore, three Nordic organisations have decided to join forces and urge the public to act as a watchdog and report sexist advertising.

Watch the film here.

The Nordic gender equality cooperation has contributed to increased knowledge and intensified collaboration between the countries. Conferences, meetings, research and reports are making us more knowledgeable and thus are bringing us closer to the goal of a gender-equal Nordic region.

This year, seven projects have been granted funding from the Nordic gender equality Fund to collaborate on issues related to gender equality. The projects will result in new knowledge about the gender-segregated labour market, utilisation of the public parental insurance and harassment in the workplace.

All projects focus on gender equality in the workplace and the labour market – a theme also prioritised by the Norwegian Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

‘The Nordic countries have long worked actively to promote equal opportunities to participate in the labour market between women and men. We have come a long way, but several challenges remain. This year’s Fund projects focusing on work and labour market will hopefully inform future efforts in this area,’ says Elin Engström, head of operations at Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK).

This year’s projects span across a wide range of themes. The one titled Enhancing Labour Opportunities for Women in the Nordic Countries will carry out a comparative study of three medium-sized Nordic communities in order to identify and share experiences of improving the integration of women in the labour market.

‘The project will examine policies and practices in three communities in three Nordic countries, Finland, Sweden and Iceland. The goal is to identify policies and practices that affect migrant women’s employment,’ says Markus Meckl from the University of Akureyri.

The discrimination ombudsmen in Sweden, Denmark and Norway will carry out a study to learn more about how sexual harassment in the workplace is handled.

Another project focuses on the health and care sector and will investigate the status of work in this domain in light of the neoliberal turn in policy and explore its relevance for gender equality.

Every year, NIKK administers funding for initiatives and collaborations in the area of gender equality in the Nordic countries on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Nordic Gender Equality Fund was initiated by the Nordic gender equality ministers with an aim to stimulate Nordic cooperation.