Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.07.2018, Page 16

16 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 16— 2018
Grandagarður 7, 101 Reykjavík
When you form a mental image of a
perpetrator of domestic violence,
you might envision a drunk, unedu-
cated foreign man with a beer belly
and white tank-top. When you form a
mental image of a survivor of domestic
violence, you may picture a non-native
Icelandic woman who only recently
joined Icelandic society.
According to various organizations
working in Reykjavík to assist survi-
vors of domestic violence, however,
these caricatures are wrong. They
reflect an Icelandic tendency to detach
from domestic violence and associate
it with uneducated
foreigners , when
those involved in
this form of violence
are, in fact, predomi-
nantly Icelanders.
These misconcep-
tions have a great
impact on women
of foreign origin, who have remained
vulnerable to domestic violence for
nearly a decade without much govern-
ment intervention in the matter. New
research sheds light on the true cost of
domestic violence to society and will
serve as a testament to the fact that
domestic violence involves not only
women of foreign origin, but also soci-
ety at large.
A lack of awareness and
support network

The biggest factor that renders women
of foreign origin vulnerable to domes-
tic violence is their limited awareness
of support systems and their legal
rights. For these women, multiple
factors often stand
in the way of reach-
ing the resources
that can help them
out of their situa-
tion.
“These women
o f t e n l a c k t h e
s u p p o r t n e t w o r k
that local Icelandic women can turn
to,” says Sigþrúður Guðmundsdsóttir,
the director of the Women’s Shelter
in Reykjavík. “People typically hear
about us through word-of-mouth, but
these women often don’t have many
connections within Icelandic society.
Also, they are often not familiar with
Icelandic customs and laws. Many
have Icelandic spouses on whom they
depend for this information, and these
spouses can easily make up lies that
work in their favour, such as ‘if you
leave me, you will be deported,’ or ‘if
you walk out the door, you will never
see your children again.’”
It is up to the government

In a 2009 Grapevine article on a study
concerning domestic violence and non-
native Icelandic women,
it was reported that the
women’s lack of awareness
could be combated with a
law necessitating women
who marry Icelanders to
come to the Directorate of
Immigration alone, to be
informed of their rights in
this country.
“ We’re sti l l talking
about making that a real-
ity, but there is no official
plan for it,” Sigþrúður
says. “To be honest, I don’t
believe it will happen. The
government must take
that step. But this mental-
ity exists of saying ‘no one
is supposed to do this, no
one is obliged to deal with
the matter.’ There is no
initiative to make it a real-
ity.”
An Icelandic problem

Sigþrúður attributes this lack of initi-
ative to the misconceptions regard-
ing Iceland’s connection to domestic
violence.
“Perpetrators are predominantly
typical Icelandic men—men who
work in well-respected jobs as pilots,
dentists, etc.,” she says. “Victims are
often native Icelandic women. When
we form these mental images of drunk,
uneducated people of foreign origin,
we distance ourselves from domes-
tic violence. Domestic violence is an
Icelandic problem, committed by
Icelandic people. We, as a society, have
to stand up against it.”
Cold hard facts
To help debunk myths about the extent
and gravity of domestic violence in
Iceland, PhD student Drífa Jónasdót-
tir has calculated the cost of domes-
tic violence to society by tracking
data from various public institutions,
including hospital visits that result
from domestic violence and police
involvement in the matter.
The figures quoted in her paper,
which is yet to be published, are in the
millions. “The government wants pure
fact data,” she says. “I hope my research
will show that domestic violence is a
far-reaching issue that costs millions
to society each year. It’s not ‘just’ some-
thing that happens to foreign women
or that is perpetrated by a select group
of society. It might be hard for us to
admit, but domestic violence affects
all of us in Icelandic society.”
Drífa’s paper, which she hopes to
publish in the next year, has the poten-
tial to serve as a pivotal turning point
for the discourse surrounding domes-
tic violence in Iceland so that women,
regardless of their origin, may receive
the help that is due.
The True Cost of
Denial
Misconceptions about domestic violence
persist in Iceland
“Perpetrators
are predomi-
nantly typical
Icelandic men.”
Words:
Christine
Engel Snitkjær
Photo:
Adobe Stock
Sigþrúður Guðmundsdsóttir