The Swedish women’s organisation WOCAD is very critical of the way girls are treated in the Nordic region.

‘Girls in the Nordic countries are being harassed, groped and sexually abused. Pictures of them are spread on the internet and they are called derogatory words. This can’t go on,’ says the organisation’s general manager Leena Haraké.

She believes the situation of girls has gone downhill in the last ten years.

‘One difference today compared with in the past is that it has become more common that whole gangs of people bully, harass and violate lone girls.

The violations can have serious consequences for young women’s health.

‘The victims feel ashamed when they are told they have themselves to blame for the attacks, that their skirts were too short or they wore too much lipstick. This makes the girls lose their self-confidence and self-esteem,’ says Leena Haraké.

The increasingly harsh climate in society made WOCAD initiate the project Full Rights for Girls in the Nordic Countries. The one-year project, which started last autumn and is funded by the Nordic Gender Equality Fund, also involves three additional organisations that work to promote the rights of girls and women: Naistenkartano from Finland, Blatt Afram from Iceland and Retretten from Norway.

What is the purpose of the project?

‘We want to increase the support for girls’ rights in the Nordic countries. It should go without saying that girls shouldn’t have to risk being violated, regardless of what they wear or what they look like.

If we can initiate a dialogue and a discussion, more people and organisations will get involved in the work to strengthen girls’ rights, says Leena Haraké, who is heading the project.

How do you strengthen girls’ rights in the project?

‘We have organised four one-day courses in Karlstad, Mellerud, Falun and Gothenburg. Two more will be held in Reykjavik and Helsinki. At the courses, which are attended by for example policy makers, public health planners and people from youth organisations, we inform the participants about the latest development in the area of girls’ rights. Then we hold a discussion about how the participants plan to support girls. And a drama teacher leads a forum play where the participants get to practise how to identify violations, harassment and derogatory language and actions at an early point, and how to act in response.’

‘We also organised a seminar during the Almedalen Week in early July to reach out to politicians who can do something about the problem.’

What is needed in order for girls in the Nordic countries to enjoy their full rights?

‘There’s a need for a change in attitudes and values. Parents, sports coaches and adults in the school system have a big responsibility. They need to have knowledge about what harassment, molestation and rape entail and clearly take action every time a girl is violated.’

What are the Nordic countries doing to strengthen girls’ rights?

‘Finland has a deeply ingrained equity perspective. Freedom from harassment is a civil right. The issue is discussed a lot and is therefore taken very seriously. This makes it easier for victims to speak up. In Iceland, there are national efforts to prevent violations of both boys and girls. Parents have received information about how to tell their children that they have the right to defend themselves if someone touches their body and that they should tell someone if they are violated. Norwegian schools are boosting girls by clearly telling them that no one has the right to violate them. Sweden is the Nordic country that has the furthest to go. For example, there’s a need for reminders from the political level that violations of girls are criminal acts,’ says Leena Haraké.

A legislative proposal that the Swedish government is currently working on aims to restore the protection of people’s integrity, which has become weaker over the years due to the increasing opportunities to disseminate pictures and information online. But the proposed legislation is also meant to safeguard the public debate by reinforcing the freedom of expression for those who feel constrained by the risk of falling victim to online hate speech.

Women who participate in the public debate make up a particularly vulnerable group. Karin Olsson, culture editor and deputy editor-in-chief of Swedish newspaper Expressen, is no exception.

‘I don’t belong to those who want to cite haters to show how awful they can be. I don’t want to give them that power,’ she says, and points out that there are those who experience much worse attacks anyway.

Despite the fact that online hate speech has become a natural part of everyday life in her profession, Karin Olsson is one of few critics of the celebrated proposal.

‘There is a huge lack of competence in the police force regarding how to investigate crimes in the digital world. The defamation legislation could be used a lot more. There are obviously cases that may fall between the cracks, and there may very well be a need for some revisions. But these suggestions are too far-reaching and may have a negative impact on the freedom of expression,’ she says.

Under the proposed new legislation, the legal concepts of harassment and defamation will more clearly include crimes committed online and will therefore cover a large share of the online hate speech targeting journalists and other participants in the public debate. Unlawful threats will be expanded to also include threats to a person’s privacy and integrity, in order to cover for example threats of harassment. The new crime, labelled “unlawful violation of privacy”, criminalises the dissemination of pictures and information that may harm a person’s privacy and integrity. Revenge porn is a prime example.

‘The legislation has to be precise and must hold up in difficult cases. Imagine a situation with the Sweden Democrats in power. If that ever happens, we don’t want a legislation that limits the freedom of expression too much. I think we should be extremely cautious,’ says Karin Olsson.

The Swedish government has already launched an action plan for threats targeting journalists, elected officials and artists. But some of the worst violations on the internet are targeted to ordinary people, and mostly women.

The Legislation May Affect Norms

Daniel Edsbagge, chief public prosecutor in Uddevalla municipality, is one of those who have managed to achieve a conviction for revenge porn.

‘It really wasn’t so difficult as far as the investigation goes. But it is obvious that the present law was written in a pre-internet era,’ he says.

This summer, he had a man convicted of grave defamation for having disseminated nude pictures of his ex-girlfriend. The man was sentenced to probation and a SEK 30 000 fine. The sentences imposed for this type of crime have varied greatly and have not been proportional to the suffering that the victims have had to endure, according to Daniel Edsbagge.

‘This violation affected her much more than if she for example would have been beaten. She felt that it totally ruined her life. She quit her job because her colleagues had seen pictures of her genitals. She cut all contact with her parents, didn’t leave her home for several months and needed to see a counsellor. These are enormous consequences that are not matched in the current legislation.’

With the new law on unlawful violation of a person’s privacy, perpetrators of this type of crime will be sentenced to anywhere from six months to four years in prison, depending on the severity of the offences. Daniel Edsbagge believes that the legislation may help change the prevailing norms as it brings clarity to what is considered criminal behaviour and prescribes quite severe penalties for perpetrators.

Online Hate Speech Targeting Women Is Often Linked to Gender

Online hate speech is considered a democracy problem in all Nordic countries. In June, Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK) published a review of the national legislations from a gender equality perspective. Hate speech is criminalised in all Nordic countries and the laws protect certain groups. However, gender is not included in the legal framework in any of the countries, at the same time as research shows that online hate speech targeting women is largely related to gender.

The Danish adoption of a new law against sexual violations online earlier this year led not only to stiffer penalties but also to more resources being allocated to the police, instructions to schools to integrate the topic in their teaching and a large number of information and support measures. In Finland, the police have received funding to strengthen the work against online hate speech. In the Southwestern Finland Police Department alone, one of eleven regional police districts, this has led to the establishment of several new full-time positions in addition to the internet officers already specialising in online crimes.

In Sweden, the Police Authority writes in the documents underlying the legislative proposal that it will not need any additional resources. The Prosecution Authority estimates that it will need to fill one additional full-time position, but does not expect a rise in prosecutions large enough to necessitate increased funding for courts or public defence counsels. Due to the low expected number of convictions, the Prison and Probation Service does not believe it will need more resources. Despite the fact that more acts will be criminal, the lion’s share of the cost increase is expected to occur for what currently falls under grave defamation, meaning the most severe offences.

‘There may be reason to run special information campaigns regarding the new legislation, not least targeting young people,’ the commissioners write.

No such measures are planned, according to an email from Sofie Rudh, press secretary to Swedish Minister for Justice and Home Affairs Morgan Johansson.

‘Schools Need to Give More Attention to Online Hate Speech’

Unless the rest of society does its part, there is a risk that the new legislation ends up being ineffective, says Måns Svensson, sociologist of law and researcher at the Lund University Internet Institute.

‘Otherwise a situation may emerge where the law is only used in order to catch the most severe offenders, while teenagers continue their everyday harassment of each other as usual,’ he says.

People’s faith in the judicial system when it comes to this type of criminal activity is low, according to a research report on Swedish youth’s norms and behaviour in relation to online hate speech, which Måns Svensson co-authored and the legislative proposal makes reference to.

He believes that schools should give more attention to online hate speech.

‘I have heard school representatives say: “We make sure the kids behave while they’re at school”. This attitude is not sustainable, as the relations that schools create are not limited to the school environment. Bullied kids are victimised 24/7 – they are never left alone.’

Parents, too, should get more involved in how kids behave online, he says.

‘They need to get used to the thought that raising a kid in this day and age includes teaching them how to behave well online.’

Convinced That Adults Account for Half of All Online Hate Speech

Many parents are afraid their kids will do bad things online, and this fear sometimes leads to bad decisions that end up having the opposite effect, according to Elza Dunkels, educational science researcher and frequently consulted expert on young people’s online culture.

‘This hasn’t changed much in the 20 years I’ve been in the field. Every new generation of parents is just as worried as the previous one. When the children are so small their parents control their internet use, sometimes they don’t want to confide in their adults, and that’s serious from a safety point of view. It is important to keep calm,’ she says.

Parents have an even greater fear of their kids becoming perpetrators of online hate speech than of them becoming victims.

‘It’s important to talk about the behaviour and not condemn the individual. Maybe tell them about own mistakes and allow for a dialogue around this difficult issue. And it’s also important to listen more than you talk. This is something adults often are bad at. When we talk to our children, it often becomes a monologue. And then adults often don’t know what to say. But they can say things like: “I heard about this. What do you think about it?” Almost all kids I have ever interviewed have been very excited to talk about these things.’

Elza Dunkels is often asked about how we can get young people to stop their online hate speech, but she is convinced that adults are responsible for at least half of all cases.

‘Nothing will ever change if all we do is take offenders to court, since it won’t change the hateful behaviour online per se.’

Elza Dunkels thinks that we all should ask ourselves: In what situations do I contribute to a hateful environment, even if I don’t do anything unlawful? What can I do to instead prevent it?

‘It’s all about how to think about other people. About not thinking in hateful ways.’

What are the main weaknesses in the field of gender equality in the Nordic media industry?‘Although the Nordic countries differ in many ways, the report shows that one thing they have in common is that men remain more visible than women in the media. The report also shows that the development in this area has been slow or stagnant in recent decades. Moreover, we found that gender stereotypes in the news are common. An uneven gender representation in the media is a gender equality and democracy issue. There should be a better awareness of the gender perspective in the media industry.’

‘The new digital media is a big challenge in all Nordic countries – how can gender equality be promoted and hate speech prevented? The technological development brings many opportunities for increased gender equality, but it has also opened up new channels for the expression of hatred and intimidation. This is something the Nordic gender equality ministers want to look closer at. For example, a report on the topic was published earlier this summer on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers [written in Swedish and titled “Hat och hot på nätet – en kartläggning av den rättsliga regleringen i Norden från ett jämställdhetsperspektiv”].

What changes are required?
‘There needs to be a willingness to deal with the issue of gender equality and to actively include it in the work of the media. There’s a need for active efforts, guidelines and follow-up. The journalism programmes at the universities play a key role. Gender equality issues should be given attention already at that level – all journalism students should be given a gender equality perspective.’

What can the Nordic countries learn from each other?
‘We can learn from various political and other measures implemented in the other countries. After all, we all have the same objective – a gender equal society – but we have chosen somewhat different approaches to get there. It is interesting to see how history has influenced each country’s media environment and for example how it is regulated.’

Can you share some examples of successful interventions?
‘The report brings attention to the lack of female experts featured in the media. According to the GMMP, about one-fifth of all experts who appear in the Nordic news media are women. The share of female experts is highest in Denmark, which is probably due to the fact that in 1997, Denmark introduced an expert database that highlights female experts and therefore makes it easier for journalists to identify and find them.’

‘Some media companies have been more attentive and have actively dealt with the underrepresentation issue. The most common measure is to monitor the gender distribution in the news. In a next step, there is of course a need to take action to actually achieve a gender balance. A good example in this regard is Swedish newspaper Västerbottens-Kuriren, which has managed to achieve a pretty good balance after setting a goal of attaining a 50/50 distribution of women and men. Also RUV, the Icelandic national broadcasting service, has made important progress (since 2014) in terms of gender awareness and gender distribution in the news content by means of bookkeeping and a deliberate strategy.’

Another recently published report, Regulation of Gender-Discriminatory Advertising in the Nordic Countries, shows that the Nordic countries also differ in terms of the paths chosen to regulate sexist advertising.

‘The results in this report suggest that Sweden has the strictest attitudes to sexist advertising in the Nordic region. All Nordic countries generally allow the use of gender stereotypes in advertising provided they are not presented in a strongly biased or humiliating manner,’ says Heidi Haggrén.

Sexist advertising is legally regulated in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland, either via a general clause or an explicit provision in the marketing/consumer law or gender equality legislation. Sweden currently has no specific legislation against sexist advertising; instead the regulation relies on a self-regulatory body. Finland is the only Nordic country with both legislation (including a government agency tasked to review sexist advertising) and a self-regulatory body in place.

‘The report indicates that both legislation and self-regulation have both strengths and weaknesses. The self-regulatory bodies can administer a large number of complaints. Yet legislation enables executive bodies to impose penalty fees and other sanctions in addition to the mere suspension of advertising campaigns,’ says Heidi Haggrén.

In the fall of 2016, the Swedish government decided to establish a separate gender equality agency. The agency’s main tasks will be to support, coordinate and assess the gender equality work undertaken in various organisations and domains.

‘The establishment of the agency will make the management of the national gender equality policy more coherent and efficient. Central documents and other material can be developed at the same time as opportunities to evaluate the methods used in the area of gender equality will be created,’ says the Swedish government’s special investigator Kerstin Alnebratt, who is in charge of the development of the agency.

The issue of establishing a special agency for gender equality policy has been discussed in Sweden since the early 2000s. Already in 2005, a commission appointed by the Social Democrat government proposed that an agency be formed. However, the agency never opened as a decision was made to instead invest vast resources in various gender equality projects. Ten years later, a new commission, now appointed by the centre-right Alliance government, again reached the conclusion that a special agency for gender equality policy would be beneficial.

‘Because a central organisation has been lacking, the gender equality work has in many cases lacked continuity and therefore has not had the desired effects. Projects with high ambitions are being launched, but when the project funding runs out, it’s hard to see any lasting effects. A few years later a new government will start a new project, but at that point the knowledge from the previous project is long gone,’ says Kerstin Alnebratt.

Sweden – a Nordic pioneer

The agency will be placed in the Gothenburg suburb of Angered and have a staff of about 75 with various backgrounds.

‘Since Swedish government agencies are highly concentrated to the Stockholm region, the government has said that new agencies should be placed elsewhere. Gothenburg, which is Sweden’s second largest city, hosts only two government agencies at the moment,’ says Kerstin Alnebratt.

Sweden will become the first Nordic country to establish a special national gender equality agency. Due to the lack of a central gender equality agency in the past, the Swedish government has traditionally commissioned universities, county administrative boards and other agencies to carry out projects related to for example gender mainstreaming, gender-related violence and human trafficking.

‘That structure makes the national gender equality work difficult to manage. It’s like one hand doesn’t always know what the other hand is doing,’ says Kerstin Alnebratt.

Focus on labour market policy

The Nordic countries have organised their national gender equality work in a variety of ways. In Finland, the gender equality unit at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for developing and implementing the government’s gender equality policy and following up on reforms of the national legislation.

The Danish Institute for Human Rights is an independent body tasked to ensure compliance with the country’s anti-discrimination and equal treatment legislation.

In Iceland, the Centre for Gender Equality is placed under the Minister of Social Affairs and Housing and is tasked to review the gender equality legislation and develop methods for implementing the government’s gender equality policy. In Norway, Bufdir, an agency under the Ministry of Children and Equality, works to promote equality and prevent gender-related discrimination.

One common feature of national gender equality work in the Nordic countries is the historically strong focus on labour market policy, says Kerstin Alnebratt.

‘Labour market issues are an important part of the Nordic model, which is based on a dual-breadwinner system and assumes that both men and women work. The organisation of childcare has been important in enabling both women and men to work outside the home while raising children.’

The rampant online posting of aggressive and sexist remarks poses a serious democracy problem as it may cause actors in the public space to remain silent. But it is difficult to hold the perpetrators accountable, partly because the legislation in the field has not been updated. Moa Bladini, author of the report, therefore calls for a revision of the hate crime legislation.

‘The current uncertainty in the Nordic countries regarding what is illegal and what is not and how different types of violations should be dealt with can be seen not only among the victims but also in the entire law enforcement sector. This is a dilemma with a negative impact on people’s legal security,’ says Moa Bladini, author of the report and senior lecturer in criminal law at the University of Gothenburg.

The study of legal regulation of online hate speech in the Nordic countries was carried out by Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK) at the request of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The report, written in Swedish and titled Hat och hot på nätet – en kartläggning av den rättsliga regleringen i Norden från ett jämställdhetsperspektiv, shows that online hate speech targets women and men to similar extents. However, there are important differences in the types of violations women and men experience. Men are more likely to fall victim to attacks involving threats of violence and references to their profession and competence, whereas women are more likely to experience sexist and sexually charged offences that are of more personal than occupational nature.

The study shows that the hate crime legislation is similar across the Nordic region. Hate speech targeting certain defined groups is illegal in all Nordic countries. However, gender falls outside the realm of legal protection in all Nordic countries, although the Finnish legislation theoretically allows for its inclusion. There is troubling uncertainty in the Nordic countries regarding how the hate crimes legislation should be applied and where to draw the line between hate speech and freedom of expression, and consequently the legal provisions are not used nearly as often as theoretically possible. Consequently, the legal protection that the groups covered by the legislation can count on in real life is very limited, and for victims of gender-based hate speech, it is non-existent. This finding should be considered in relation to the research showing that online hate speech targeting women is largely gender based.

Thus, according to Moa Bladini, there is good reason to include victims of gender-based offences in the hate crime legislation.
‘In view of the fact that women are particularly affected by gender-based online hate speech and that the Nordic countries see gender equality as important, it is surprising that no Nordic country offers people legal protection against such violations.’

The report will be presented at a conference titled Countering Hate: Nordic Conference on Hate Speech on 21 June in Stavanger, Norway.

One important challenge for the gender equality ministers in the Nordic countries is to help migrant women enter the labour market. The employment rate, as well as the importance of having as many immigrants as possible enter the labour market, are recurring topics in the public debate. Paulina de los Reyes has carried out studies dealing with gender and ethnicity in the labour market. She says that we are seeing a trend where the conditions in the labour market are becoming increasingly fragmented. Those who suffer the most from this development are the people who are considered not to belong to the ‘ideal’ workforce.

‘The fragmentation in the labour market has been increasing since the 1990s. Today’s young people barely know that paid holiday is a right. There is something called text message employment, which is based on the idea that you must be available around the clock and show up for work whenever you receive a text message. And if we look at the people who have these jobs, we see a clear pattern in terms of age, gender and immigrant background.’

Paulina de los Reyes argues that the working conditions and the work environment can vary significantly even within one and the same workplace. She mentions her own employer, Stockholm University, as an example of this. Although a fairly large proportion of the teaching staff at Stockholm University hold permanent, salaried positions, quite a few instead have temporary contracts, work on project basis and/or are paid hourly. And some occupational groups at the University, such as the cleaning staff, work under entirely different conditions as they are technically employed by an external company that the University has contracted for cleaning services.

Migrants receive the least attractive jobs

‘That firm has its own rules. Although the cleaners work at the University, how many of them are covered by a collective agreement? Your formal employment conditions affect the degree to which you can voice your opinion and work to achieve change. They also affect your life outside of work, like whether you will be able to get a housing contract, have children, go on holiday or have a decent pension when you get old,’ says Paulina de los Reyes.

The fact that migrants receive the least attractive jobs in the Nordic labour markets is no coincidence. Rather, there is a long tradition of this division, according to the professor. The labour immigration began earlier in Sweden than in the other Nordic countries. Sweden was the only country that did not participate in wars, which kept the infrastructure intact and allowed Swedish companies to expand rapidly. However, few people know that, until 1955, the labour migration to Sweden consisted primarily of women from other Nordic countries.

‘At that time, there were more female migrants than Swedish women in the Swedish labour market. This can probably be attributed to Swedish women having important tasks to manage at home, for example at family farms,’ says Paulina de los Reyes.

When Swedish women eventually entered the labour market, they found work mainly in the public sector, where part-time work was common. Initially, there was a big difference in employment rate between migrant women who worked in manufacturing and Swedish women who worked in the public sector.

‘In the 1970s, this gap vanished. A series of reforms improved the ability of Swedish women to work outside the home. For example, joint taxation was eliminated and childcare services became widely available,’ says Paulina de los Reyes.

Working part time

The 1970s also saw important changes in the labour market, which made a great deal of Swedish manufacturing disappear abroad. According to Paulina de los Reyes, people with immigrant background served as a lubricant in the industrial transition. Immigrants have often been employed in industrial sectors that ended up leaving the country. The textile industry is one example.

‘The Swedish model has been based on women working part time and migrants acting as a lubricant. Agreements between capital and labour have favoured some groups but weakened others. The decisions have been made by employer organisations and trade unions, where a white male elite has owned the power,’ she says.

According to Paulina de los Reyes, it has been important to Swedish trade unions ever since the 1950s to avoid having a first- and a second-class team in the labour market. Unlike other European countries, Sweden has until now not had formal rules that give different rights to natives and foreign-born people, for example in the form of a guest worker system (as in Germany). Informally, however, it has happened anyway: today the Swedish labour market is both gender segregated and ethnically divided.

‘The talk about marginalisation gives a skewed picture. The truth is that the labour market has been organised in a way that differentiates between groups of people. This sorting of people also provides an opportunity to demand subordination of groups that are considered to deviate from the norm. If you’re a young woman or an immigrant and get a job, you’re supposed to be grateful. This makes it possible to exploit these people more, to demand gratitude, and silence in case of dissatisfaction,’ she says.

A new order is required

So how do we achieve a labour market that is fair to all people? According to Paulina de los Reyes, the instability and lack of security leads to an acceptance of poor conditions. She believes that a new order is required in order to change this. An intersectional perspective is key to understanding that the problem does not lie with the ‘outsiders’, but can rather be attributed to the inequality that is generated by the way the labour market is organised and that stem from changing power relations between employees and employers.

‘What I can see has worked historically is to get organised. The rights contained in labour agreements are not given but rather the products of fierce struggle. There is also a need to denormalise the subordination currently seen in the Swedish labour market.’

Gender equality has been on the Nordic agenda for over 40 years. Several progressive gender equality reforms have been implemented, including individual taxation and gender-neutral parental insurance, making the Nordic countries pioneers in the field. The intention is for the new prime minister initiative to contribute to the international cooperation around the UN’s 17 global sustainable development goals, of which gender equality is one. The three main themes of the initiative have been named Nordic Green, Nordic Gender Effect and Nordic Food and Welfare.

Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK) is a partner of the Nordic Council of Ministers within the framework of the Nordic Gender Effect, a flagship project under the prime minister initiative. The aim of the project is to gather Nordic research and knowledge in order to contribute to more effective international efforts in the areas of gender equality (Sustainable Development Goal 5) and decent work (Sustainable Development Goal 8). A number of focus areas where the Nordic experiences are considered valuable have been identified, including parental leave systems, childcare and gender-equal organisation and leadership.

‘NIKK is the only organisation with a good overview of the developments in the field of gender equality in all Nordic countries. We can’t think of a better partner. By taking advantage of NIKK’s expertise, we hope to be able to invite other organisations, regions and countries to collaborations,’ says Julia Fäldt Wahengo from the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The intention is for the knowledge material to meet the rapidly growing demand and increase the curiosity regarding the Nordic knowledge and practical experience of gender equality work, but also to invite to dialogue and cooperation around the challenges that remain in both the Nordic region and globally.

‘We have an important role in contributing to the analysis and contextualising the gender equality and work-related issues, from both a Nordic and a global perspective. We hope our participation in the Nordic Gender Effect project will draw attention to the need for critical perspectives and gender research in the work for global sustainable development,’ says Ulrika Jansson, analyst at Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research.

The first year of the three-year Nordic Gender Effect project will be spent gathering and packaging material. In the second and third years, there will be a focus on presenting and disseminating the material and its message.

‘The Nordic countries are in a unique position. Considering our positive experiences in the field, we see it as our responsibility to stand up and take the lead in the area of gender equality. Together with NIKK, we hope to be able to contribute to more organisations and countries around the world giving priority to gender equality,’ says Julia Fäldt Wahengo.

The Nordic-Baltic Network of Policewomen was formed 16 years ago. One important task of the network is to arrange conferences on gender equality, at which both problems and successful initiatives are addressed. The presidency of the network is rotated between the five Nordic and three Baltic countries and is currently held by Latvia.

‘The network is particularly important for the Baltic states. We hope that the good examples from the Nordic countries will lead to more policewomen holding leading positions in Baltic law enforcement,’ says Inese Volosevica, currently chair of the network and head of the Latvian State Police International Department.

Last October, the network, which consists of female representatives from the national police authorities, police academies and police unions in the member states, received funding from the Nordic Gender Equality Fund. The events arranged within the framework of a one-year project include a seminar in Riga 31 May–1 June on gender equality in the Nordic and Baltic police forces. There will be a particular focus on the working conditions and the possibility to combine a career with family life.

‘In the Baltic states, it is difficult for women to combine family life with a career as a policewoman. In almost all families, the woman is in charge of the children and other family matters. After a divorce, 99 per cent of the children live with their mothers and see their fathers only on weekends and during school breaks – if the dad wants to. This makes it difficult for women to work evenings, nights and early mornings,’ says Inese Volosevica, who is in charge of the conference.

What are the main weaknesses in the member countries when it comes to gender equality in law enforcement?

‘One problem is that there are no written action plans for gender equality activities in the Baltic countries. A clear strategy would help put the gender equality issue higher on the agenda of policy makers, for example with regard to the recruitment of management staff. In Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, just over 40 per cent of all police workers are women. It is not uncommon for female police officers to be ahead of their male colleagues when it comes to education. Nevertheless, few women hold high management positions. Instead, they tend to work mainly with investigations and other office work at lower organisational levels. Since few women hold leading positions, they also have lower salaries than their male counterparts.’

What are the main differences in the area of gender equality within the network?

‘The Nordic countries have made more progress in establishing gender equality strategies aimed to increase the share of female leaders in the police. The network can help the Baltic countries learn how such strategies should be designed and implemented. In the Nordic countries, it is also common with flexible working hours, which makes it easier for example to pick up one’s kids after school. Another difference is that in the Baltic countries, we don’t have gender quotas mandating for example that a department must have five male and five female police officers.’

What is the best way to achieve gender equality in law enforcement?

‘To establish gender equality strategies. And to encourage female police officers to step up actively pursue the management positions.’

The ability to discuss things on social media is often regarded as favourable to a democratic society. But the tone can be harsh and offensive. Thus, a Nordic network against online sexism and hate speech was formed in September 2016 at the initiative of the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The network has received funding from the Nordic Gender Equality Fund.

‘The knowledge about this relatively new phenomenon needs to be strengthened. We need to keep updated about the latest research, legal situations and trends in all Nordic countries to get inspired to create change in our own countries,’ said Lumi Zuleta, project manager from the Institute. 

The network also includes the Norwegian Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud and the Icelandic Human Rights Centre.

Each of the three network members is in charge of arranging a seminar, and the seminars are also attended by representatives from Sweden’s Equality Ombudsman and the Finnish Equality ombudsman. On May 19, a seminar focusing on how the Nordic media moderate online comments to articles they publish on social media will be arranged in Oslo.

‘A large part of the public debate has moved to social media. The media of course have a responsibility for the debate, but what exactly does the responsibility consist of? At the seminar, we will discuss the media’s experience of moderating online debates, what the challenges are and the relationship between moderation and freedom of expression,’ says Lumi Zuleta.

What changes are needed in order to improve the handling of online sexism and hate speech?

‘The legislation in the Nordic countries needs to be reviewed and the media’s legal responsibilities need to be clarified. Right now, it is not clear what their responsibility is in relation to online comments. But the hate speech must be addressed at several levels in society. For example, it is important that children and young people learn social media etiquette in school.’

Why is it important to work against online hate speech?

‘The public debate is a cornerstone of democracy in the Nordic countries. But half of Denmark’s population choose not to participate in the online debate because of the environment. The fact that such a large number of people don’t want to take advantage of their freedom of speech is a democracy problem and a serious concern.’

What are all the hateful comments about and what groups are the most vulnerable?

‘The comments are about political views, race, religion and gender. Women are more frequently than men attacked with gender-related comments. It is also more common that private photos of women are spread online without consent than private photos of men.’

What can the Nordic countries learn from each other when it comes to the online climate?

‘Norway and Sweden have national strategies to combat online hate crimes. It is important that the issue has been addressed at the political level, it improves the potential for change. Norway also has a nuanced discussion about hate speech, in which both the freedom of expression and the individual’s responsibility for remarks made are addressed. In Denmark, we recently conducted a study of online hate speech,’ says Lumi Zuleta.

The event in Reykjavik is a so-called barbershop conference, which is an Icelandic concept aimed to engage boys and men in the gender equality work. María Mjöll Jónsdóttir, UN director at Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is co-organising the conference. She argues that men’s engagement is essential in order to break away from norms of violence and manifestations such as human trafficking. The conference will begin with a panel discussion at which, among others, Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir, Reykjavík chief of police, and Per Anders Sunesson, Swedish ambassador against trafficking in persons, will talk about their work with boys and men to combat human trafficking.

Tell us about the conference. What else are you going to do?
‘We will have a workshop dealing with gender stereotypes in society and how they affect us, and another workshop will focus on gender-based violence. There will also be an expert panel discussing causes and effects of human trafficking in the region. The participants include representatives from various sectors of society, including law enforcement, international organisations, universities and policy makers.’

Why have you chosen to focus on human trafficking?  
‘The event is hosted by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Council of the Baltic Sea States, both of which have worked hard against human trafficking for a long time. We know that trafficking in persons is a widespread problem in the region, although we don’t know the exact extent of it. The main victims are women who are exploited for sex, but there are also men who become victims of forced labour. To stop the trafficking, we need to focus on norms and attitudes, among other things. The participants we want to reach include those who work in the school systems and young professionals who can benefit from a gender perspective on issues in their work.’

What can the Nordic and Baltic countries learn from each other?
‘We have a lot to learn from each other, not least in terms of best practice, or how the countries involved have solved various problems. I’m looking forward to a fruitful discussion on how we can take this work further.’

Finally, where did the concept of Barbershop conferences come from?
The idea dates back to our former president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who was the world’s first democratically elected female president. When she went to the women’s conference in Beijing, she was struck by the low male attendance. The intention with barbershop conferences is to involve more men in the gender equality work, since they are needed in order to solve the problem. It has attracted a lot of interest internationally.’