Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.09.2009, Qupperneq 6

Sexual violence seems to be
somewhat of an epidemic in Iceland.
The fact of the matter is that, aside
from Greenland, Iceland holds the
record for sex crimes in the Nordic
countries. Sad, kind of scary, but true
nonetheless. Let’s take a look at some
hard facts: an average of ten rapes get
reported per 100,000 inhabitants in
Denmark, Finland and Norway per
year. In Iceland, this number reaches
24. Also, a notably higher percentage
of Icelandic children experience sexual
violence before the age of 16 compared
to the other Nordic countries.
Now why is that?
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
Although sexual violence is a subject
that has been widely debated in Iceland,
little has been done by authorities to
improve the local situation. Very little
money and effort is put into the battle
against sex crimes. Apparently, no one
has bothered to investigate the entire
system and research where things can
be improved.
Until now. Þórdís Elva Þorvalds-
dóttir Bachmann has decided enough
is enough. She is an actress turned
playwright turned writer who just
published a book about gender and
sexual violence in Iceland in an attempt
to highlight the subject.
“I wrote the book after reading
about an acquittal in a rape case I
found particularly heinous. Part of the
reason for the acquittal was the fact that
the woman didn’t fight her attacker
enough, according to the court. In
my mind, that’s simply blaming the
victim,” explains Þórdís.
Initially she meant to write a letter to
the papers protesting the verdict. In the
end, though, she had written an entire
book on the subject. Fully aware of the
fact that she was perhaps not the best
person to pen it (not being an expert
in any fields relating to sex crimes
and all), she dropped everything and
moved in with her parents, as nobody
was paying her to write it.
“I sought out skilled professionals
and experts who were generous
enough to give me interviews,
advice, sources and vast information.
Basically, I did my best to track down
every prevalence study that has been
conducted on gender and sexual
violence in Iceland. Also, the book cites
numerous international surveys and
researches, to get a better picture of
Iceland’s status in these matters in an
international context.”
A NEGLECTEd MATTER
The book is a critical and current view
on how sexual violence is handled
within the justice system, in the media
and in public debate. According to
Þórdís, her main conclusion is that
sexual violence has been seriously
neglected by the Icelandic authorities.
For example, she summed up the total
amount of words that five out of the six
political parties decided to spend on
the issue of gender and sexual violence
before the 2007 elections. The result:
154 words, in total. In comparison, the
paragraph you are now reading totals
93 words.
Þórdís claims authorities are
ignoring and/or neglecting a long list
of matters concerning sexual abuse.
And she has some tips as to what needs
to be done to improve the situation:
“The resources for survivors of sexual
violence are financially starved. The
main counselling centre in Iceland,
Stígamót, often struggles to make ends
meet. The Rape Crisis Clinic had to
fire all of their specially trained nurses
this spring due to cutbacks. More so,
law reforms are sorely needed. Also,
people who exhibit violent behaviour
are not court ordered to have any sort
of treatment, only incarceration. Lastly,
victims of domestic violence are still
removed from Icelandic homes, as
opposed to removing the perpetrator.
For the past years, around 70% of
rape cases handled by the Attorney
General—who litigates all cases of
violence on behalf of the state—have
been discontinued. The list goes on
and on. Basically, it would be easier
to list the things that have NOT been
neglected, than the things that need
changing.”
THE SILENT PROBLEM
The book also sheds light on sexual
violence against men, a topic that is
rarely spoken about or heard of. Little is
known about these crimes in Iceland,
but the numbers are considered to be
higher than previously believed.
Between 1993 and 2008, 57 men
sought help at The Rape Crisis Clinic
in Reykjavík. The stereotypical rape
in mainstream culture takes place in
a dark alley, where the perpetrator is
a dangerous, armed lunatic and the
victim is a young woman, who screams
and fights her attacker with all her
might. All things considered, this form
of rape is very, very rare.
“I think this lack of awareness
stems from the fact that we generally
don’t think of men as possible victims,”
said Þórdís. “A man once told me how
he took a cab home from downtown
after a night of partying. He passed
out in the cab and woke up in the
Öskjuhlíð area, as the cab driver was
raping him. This man didn’t dare tell
anybody about the incident, because,
as he stated, “these things should not
happen to anyone, and especially not to
guys.”
GETTING THROUGH IT
One might wonder who would have the
stomach to read through a book about
something as heavy as sex crimes. Fear
not, Þórdís ensures that the subject
is approached with certain lightness.
“This may sound strange, but some
chapters are actually quite humorous.
Besides, some of the misconceptions
surrounding rape are so ridiculous,
it’s hard not to make fun of them. For
example, last year, local authorities in
Malaysia ordered women not to wear
lipstick and high heels to prevent
them from being raped. This is rather
mysterious to anybody who has ever
owned lipstick and stilettos, and
doesn’t connect these items to sexual
attacks. Seriously, what’s with them
Malaysian heels?”
Getting back to the fact that there
is such a high amount of sex crimes
committed in Iceland: what’s up with
that?
It’s quite a mystery. I think we have
to face the simple fact that violence
of this nature simply seems to be
more common in Iceland for some
reason. In my opinion, it is of utmost
importance to figure out that reason,
and the Icelandic authorities should
treat it as an urgent matter.
Article | Interview Article | Michael Zelenko
6
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 15 — 2009
Sex Crimes In Iceland
Þórdís Elva Þorvaldsdóttir Bachmann highlights a delicate subject
A lot of you folks out there might remember Þórdís Elva from her time as a
Grapevine journalist-slash-columnist. During her stint here, she tackled a
mass of delicate subject matters, and always turned in good, interesting copy.
Look it up on www.grapevine.is
Without a number you're nobody.
Potheads have 420, Satanists claim 666
and now a group of environmentalists
have some digits of their own: 350.
Three hundred and fifty isn't just a
primitive semi-perfect number (trust
us, it is), it also refers to the parts per
million (or ppm) of CO2 our planet can
sustain without suffering the effects
of global warming: famine, drought,
environmental degradation and
blistering sunburns for millions of ill-
prepared northerners.
To that effect, a worldwide network
of scientists and promoters have banded
together to spread their gospel through
an organization called, surprise: 350.org.
The problem is we’ve already reached
385.92ppm. So if the world really is
galloping full steam towards disaster,
why is it still so goddamn cold outside?
Well, it's kind of like food poisoning—by
the time you feel it, it’s too late. We're all
better off preventing the calamity in the
first place.
350.org has called for a day of action
on October 24th and they couldn’t
have picked a better date. With the
uN Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen taking place in early
December, organisers need to spread a
cultural buzz in time to put pressure on
the participating nations. Plus, October
24th is united Nations Day, the perfect
time to attract attention to their cause.
Actions in over 100 countries
have been planned including cooking
events in Nairobi, marches in Tokyo,
350 model wind generators in Kiev,
and a 350-person human chain in
Cadena, Venezuela. Now 350.org wants
Icelanders in on the party. Drink 350
beers with 350 friends. Then try to walk
350 meters backwards. Eat 350 hot dogs
in 350 minutes. Cuddle with 350 kittens
for 350 hours. Look, we couldn’t care
less what you do, just do something.
LOUISE PETERSSON
HÖRÐUR SVEINSSON
Final Count
Down
350.org Calls
On Communities
Worldwide
“This may sound strange,
but some chapters
are actually quite
humorous. Besides, some
of the misconceptions
surrounding rape are so
ridiculous, it’s hard not to
make fun of them.”