Introduction

Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of equality between men and women in society, and must be eliminated.

It is only by finding effective ways for eradicating and preventing violence against women that any given society can hope to achieve gender equality.

In recent years the Government of Norway has implemented a number of measures in order to eliminate and prevent violence against women.

Providing financial support to the shelters in Norway is one such measure.

A further measure is the recent Plan of Action against Violence Against Women (1999), which aims at strengthening the work in this area. It focuses on raising the level of information and competence on violence against women at all levels by strengthening co-operation across sectors, as well as across research institutions.

History of the Shelter Movement in Norway

Ideological basis

They were organized along non-hierarchical lines, that is, they had a flat organizational structure, with no leaders. This was the case, as they considered the hierarchical form of organizing to be an integral part of the power structures maintaining patriarchal society. All work and responsibilities were shared within the group on a rotational basis.

Since then, the shelters in Norway have developed along different lines and have taken on differing and varying organizational forms.

Today, the ideology and work of the shelter movement is anchored in their two-fold platform of work. They work both at the individual as well as at the societal level. The shelters help the individual woman seeking help, as well as work towards changing the power structures in society that perpetuate the oppression of women.

The shelters do not wish to treat the women seeking help as "sick" people needing cure. The "sickness", they wish to point out, lies in society and in its structures.

Financial basis

The women starting the first shelter demanded public funding for running the shelters. They argued that wife beating was a societal problem.

That it is the State’s responsibility to provide support services and shelter for battered women. All the shelters in Norway are based on public funding. Before 20% of the total budget was financed by the Local authorities and the remaining 80 % was financed by the Central government, through the Ministry for Children and Equality. From 2011 the shelters will be financed 100 % by the municipalities.

What are the services offered by the shelters?

An Act relating to Municipal Crisis Centre Services (Crisis Centre Act) entered into force 1. January 2010.The purpose of the Crises Centre Act is to ensure the provision of a good, comprehensive crisis centre service for women, men and children who are subjected to domestic violence or threats of such violence. The municipality shall ensure the provision of a crisis centre service that may be used by persons who are subjected to domestic violence or threats of such violence, and who need counselling or safe, temporary accommodation. Individuals may contact the crisis centre service without a referral or an appointment.

The law includes women, men and children.The fact that one in the text of the Act mentions both sexes, is a clarification of the offer should be adapted to special needs of women and in men. However, the Ministry emphasizes that the idea of a gender-neutral law have not been that women and men should stay at the same shelter or use the same residence rooms. Separate shelter services for women and men were formulated as a main rule in the consultation note. On the basis of the consultation round, the Ministry has chosen to include a separate paragraph which stresses that the shelters for women and men should be physically separated, since the Ministry estimates that as a particularly important quality of the offer. The Ministry emphasize that this is fundamental for keeping the shelter services at a low threshold level.

It is now a statutory duty for local authorities to provide the following services to victims of domestic violence:

• 24 hour telephone helpline providing information, advice and assistance
• Shelter or equivalent safe, temporary accommodation including support and assistance
• Day service including support and assistance information about statutory rights to assistance and, if necessary, practical help in contacting relevant agencies
• Assistance during the re-establishment phase
• Co-ordinating different services and working out an individual plan based on the needs of the victim
• Qualified interpretation services (if needed)

The act includes young people exposed to forced marriage and victims of human trafficking in the definition of victim of violence in close relationships.

Women seeking help at a shelter may themselves decide if they wish to stay for a night or two, or over a longer period. They may also choose to just visit and speak to a shelter worker for a few hours, or only seek counseling over the telephone. Shelters work on the principle of help to self-help.

Shelters also work with influencing public opinion and changing societal attitudes. They do so by engaging actively in the public debate and in the media. They also provide information to other women’s organisations, to schools and the health and social services. Shelters meet with new challenges continually. Shelters, therefore try to meet these challenges and keep updated on developments in society, by attending relevant seminars and conferences. They also organise courses and seminars for shelter workers.

In recent years shelters have focused on improving the services for children. Also, as there has been an increase in the number of immigrant women using the shelter services, shelters have tried to focus on the specific needs of these women.

In addition, shelters are presently working on improving and offering better services for women with disabilities.

Protection for battered and abused women

Battered and sexually abused women can be protected against the abuser trough the Criminal Procedure Act § 222a. A person can be prohibited from entering specific areas, follow after, visit or otherwise contact another person. This can be done if there is a specific reason to believe that the person will commit a criminal act against or otherwise violate the other person`s right to be left peacefully alone. The police can also offer the violence alarm for women who are treathened by violence – or have been attacked before. The alarm is connected to the police in order to ensure swift action by the police.

Victims of sex crimes and domestic violence are according to chapter 9a of the Criminal Procedure Act, entitled to the assistance of a lawyer. The lawyer shall be remunerated by the state, and is responsible for taking care of the interest of the victim in connection with the investigation and the main hearing of the case. If the victim is entitled to have a legal aid lawyer appointed, this assistance will be free and the victim will not have to pay a portion. A legal aid lawyer is a lawyer who will provide advice and assistance prior to reporting the circumstance, when and if the victim reports the circumstance, during police questioning and during any court cases. If the victim is interested, the lawyer will also be able to help to claim compensation from whoever is reported.