Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.09.2019, Blaðsíða 12

The inaugural #MeToo: Moving
Forward conference was held in
Reykjavík from September 17th to 19th.
Co-sponsored by the Nordic Council of
Ministers, the Government of Iceland,
and the Institute for Gender Equal-
ity and Difference at the University
of Iceland, it provided a platform to
discuss structural aspects of gender
inequality, which enable sexual
violence and other gender-based
harassment.
Host Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir
outlined the conference’s focus. “We
will dig deep into the effect of this
social phenomenon—some call it
a revolution. We will be focusing on
three key issues: #MeToo: why now,
#MeToo: what next, and #MeToo in the
Nordic countries.”
#ÉgLíka
With 800 registered participants and
80 speakers over
the course of three
days, the confer-
ence was opened
w i t h a n a d d r e s s
from Iceland’s Prime
M i n i s t e r K a t r í n
Jakobsdóttir. “It ’s
been two years since
millions of women
across the world used the simple but
powerful hashtag #MeToo. How can
we make sure that collective demands
result in enduring structural change?”
The Prime Minister emphasised the
revelation that laws are not enough to
address sexual harassment. She also
commented on how shocked she was
in learning about the severity and
prevalence of gender violence towards
women of foreign origin in Iceland.
“When migrant women spoke out,
many of us here in Iceland were devas-
tated,” Katrín revealed. “They described
levels of multiple discrimination that
most of us had hoped didn’t exist in
Iceland. By doing so, they exposed the
fact that while we have made massive
progress on gender equality, we have
not sufficiently confronted the inter-
sections of gender, racial, and class
injustices. I believe this holds true for
the other Nordic countries as well.”
W.O.M.E.N.
The Prime Minister’s acknowl-
edgement of the realities faced by
immigrant women in Iceland was a
touchstone in her speech and a later
panel discussion. “The first time she
said it, I was quite moved,” recalls
Randi Stebbins, conference attendee
and human rights activist. “It was
quite moving for me as an immigrant
woman in this community who has
worked on these issues. As an immi-
grant woman, I didn't
know these conversa-
tions were going on
here until they got
published. It's the
in-group deciding
who gets the space.”
Prior to moving to
Ic e l a n d w i t h h e r
family, Randi worked
for several years as a lawyer in the
United States with undocumented
Words:
a rawlings
Photo:
Art Bicnick
12 The Reykjavík Grapevine
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Movin! Forward With The
#MeToo Conference
Activists, researchers, politicians, and locals discuss gender inequality
The scene at Harpa last week