NIKK magasin 1 2009 Focus: Prostitution - Leadership by NIKK - Nordisk institutt for kunnskap om kjønn

magasin 1.2009

Margot WallstrĂśm on leadership and politics

Closeness and control for sale

European Parliament shows little interest

Foreign prostitutes changes the focus of social measures

Nordic gender institute

Focus: Prostitution Human trafficking changes Nordic prostitution policies

Focus: Leadership

She still rules Berit Ă&#x2026;s (80) on master suppression techniques

Intro

bosse parbring editor of NIKK magasin

Focus: Leadership and prostitution Already by the age of five, she had organised a charity action. At 12, she started a protest movement in the schoolyard. Now she is 80 and can look back on a full life as a researcher, politi cian and activist. Berit Ås from Norway is best known for her theory on the five master suppression techni ques. She developed the theory in order to be able to explain to other women why they are so often rendered invisible and not taken seriously by men in positions of power. Master suppression techniques are part of the body language and can only be countered by being pointed out. In management issues master suppression techniques are constantly topical – not least when it comes to women in leading positions. This issue of NIKK magasin highlights the dif ference between the situation within politics and in business. Currently, politics in the Nor dic countries is reasonably well gender balan ced. But the world of business is a completely

NIKK magasin 1.2009 ISSN 1502-1521 published by NIKK – Nordic Gender Institute PB 1156 Blindern, NO-0317, Oslo, Norway Telephone +47 22 85 89 21 Telefaks: +47 22 85 89 50 nikk@nikk.uio.no | www.nikk.no

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20 Men on the top. “This reinforces the image of the EU as a male dominated project,” says Commissioner Wallström.

different affair; it is more or less entirely maledominated. Totally different sets of logic seem to govern politics and industry. This is also the theme of the NIKK Gender and Power Project, which will be completed in 2009. Another project, which NIKK finished in 2008, was that on prostitution. This issue of NIKK magasin therefore includes articles on prostitution in the Nordic countries. Resear chers from all the Nordic countries studied the extent of and legislation on prostitution, as well as social measures in the field, and women’s and men’s attitudes towards prostitution. Prostitution has, for a long time, been a watershed in Nordic politics. The 10-year-old Swedish Sex Purchase Law that prohibits the buying of sex appeared radical when it was accepted. But now Norway, too, has introdu ced a similar law. In the other Nordic countri es there is currently debate as to whether they should follow the same path, or whether there are better ways of dealing with the politics of prostitution.

CHIEF EDITOR Solveig Bergman solveig.bergman@nikk.uio.no EDITOR Bosse Parbring bosse.parbring@nikk.uio.no DESIGN Aina Griffin Layout Bosse Parbring COVER PHOTO Bosse Parbring

28 Sextraders online “Us men? What we think? Is that interesting?”

– Bosse Parbring

PRINTING Zoom Grafisk AS PRINTED IN 9.000 copies TRANSLATIONS Heidi Granqvist, Sarah Bannocks and Staffan Martikainen SUBSCRIPTION Subscription is free. Order at www.nikk.no

42 Human trafficking Better protection is demanded for victims.

Contents 1.09 NIKK magasin

8 Somebody is making you stupid! “Hearing that you’re not stupid has a liberating effect,” says Berit Ås, known for her theory on master suppression techniques. At 80, she continues to attract wide interest.

12 Gender equality only where visible “The lack of women leaders is not a luxury problem,” says Professor Anita Göransson.

16 The road towards 40% 12 “The share of women leaders in Denmark is extremely low compared to other EU member states. Only Malta and Cyprus do worse than Denmark.” –

anette borchorst, researcher

“I hope the quota legislation will pave the way for an alternative form of thinking within business” says former party leader Valgerd Svarstad Haugland.

20 Margot Wallström on leadership and politics ”As long as politics is male dominated, there will be a need for female networks,” says Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission.

22 European Parliament shows little interest “The Gender Equality Committee of the European Parliament runs the risk of being abolished,” says Committee Vice Chair Eva-Britt Svensson.

24 Will they go the same way? In just a few years, the body of legislation on prostitution in the Nordic countries has undergone an epoch-making development and become more uniform.

28 Closeness and control for sale The website sexhandel.no (sextrade) is an initiative that enables customers themselves to describe their own thoughts about buying sex.

31 Nordic countries vs. Europe The Nordic countries all want to limit prostitution, while several other European countries regard prostitution as a legitimate occupation.

40 “In the Nordic countries, prostitutes are victims. Instead of supporting prostitutes, we have made them a problem which undermines the order of our society.” –

jaana kauppinen, director

34 What do numbers tell us? How much prostitution is there in the Nordic countries?

36 Mobilising public opinion The population in most of the Nordic countries has, during the last few years, taken an increasingly critical attitude towards prostitution.

38 Men on the periphery Foreign prostitutes changes the focus of social measures.

40 Heated debate A heated debate arose at a prostitution conference arranged by NIKK.

42 Demands for better protection The fight against human trafficking is a very hot theme in the Nordic social debate.

45 Column: How politics re-invent inequality 47 Editorial: Financial crisis – does gender matter?

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Current Gender-neutral marriage Three of four parties in the Swedish Government now suggest a common, gender-neutral marriage law. The issue of gender-neutral marriage legislation has been the subject of debate for some time among the government parties. One of the four parties, the Christian Democrats, has taken a stance against such legislation. Even if there will not be any common proposition from the government parties and the opposition, the importance of broad agreement in the Parliament is emphasized. “There are six parties that basically agree on this issue, even if some attitudes vary somewhat at detail level,” says Lars Lindblad from the right-wing party Moderaterna in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. The intention is that the new, gender-neutral marriage law will come into force on 1 May 2009. In Norway, a gender-neutral marriage law came into force on 1 January 2009. In the rest of the Nordic countries same-sex couples can enter into civil partnership, but not matrimony.

Denmark

Report on violence by partner For the first time in Denmark, the scope of violence in young couples has been mapped in an extensive study. The figures show that young women more often than men experience violence by their partner. Just under ten per cent of young women and four per cent of young men have, during the last year, been subjected to physical or sexual violence by their current or former partner. The report focuses on the young people’s own attitudes to violence and on how to avoid violence.

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–

these are issues sweden will pursue as chair of the eu , according to gender equality minister nyamko nabuni .

norway

“Best at fatherhood policies” “The Norwegian Government is now best in the world when it comes to fatherhood policies.” This is claimed by masculinity researcher Jørgen Lorentzen after the Government presented a whole set of proposals that focus on men and gender equality. For over a year, the Norwegian Government has worked on a Report to the Parliament on men and gender equality. A Men’s Panel was appointed and a survey was started in order to trigger debate on the role of men in gender equality work. Jørgen Lorentzen, masculinity researcher at the Centre for Gender Research in Oslo, has been member of the Men’s Panel. He is more or less pleased with the Government’s Report presented in December 2008, which contains suggested measures within the fields of working life, family life, school and child care, health and violence. However, Jørgen Lorentzen misses measures within the area of health. “It’s a shortcoming that the Government doesn’t want a study of its own on men and health, similar to the one that has been conduc ted on women and health. There are acute pro blems within that area. Men live for a shorter time than women. Men lead a qualitatively poor life, and this has destructive consequences not only for themselves, but also for women and children. Male health has a dramatic impact on other people in their close environment. There is a big gap between the existing problems and the level of knowledge, and that is why a study would be needed.” On the other hand, Jørgen Lorentzen is hap pier with the measures suggested to strengthen men’s relationships with their children. The Gov ernment wants to extend the current paternity leave quota from six to ten weeks in 2009. In the long run, the Government plans to lengthen the quota to 14 weeks. The total parental leave is to be extended to 48 weeks (at 100 per cent wage compensation). In this way Norway is now appro aching the Icelandic model, which divides the parental leave into three equal parts – one for

each parent and one that can be shared freely. It all, however, depends on the current Government winning the next election in 2009, since the extension to 14 weeks will not be introduced before the election. “Time wise, Norway will become the best in the world, if the paternity leave quota is increased to 14 weeks,” Jørgen Lorentzen notes. This means 3.5 months reserved for the father, which is more than in Iceland. Thus Norway will get the best fatherhood policy internationally.” Bosse Parbring

Illustration photos: Colourbox, iStock

Sweden

”Gender equality in the labour market, male violence against women, and prostitution.”

current Norway

”Don’t make men into climate scapegoats” Women and men are equally responsible for creating a sustainable world, therefore the Nordic Region is promoting gender equality in the UN’s climate negotiations. The Nordic Council of Ministers hosted a seminar on gender equa lity and climate change attended by a large number of internatio nal delegates during the UN Com mission on the Status of Women in New York on March 5. Gender equality is an essential part of the climate solution. If the differences between women and men are not taken into con sideration in climate negotiations it will be difficult to find solu tions that work for everyone. One of the reasons that the climate and gender equality go together is that women and men affect the climate in different ways. This forms part of the re port on the gender and climate change presented by Helene Hjort Oldrup at the seminar in New York. Amongst other things, in the industrialised world, men drive more than women and in this way emit more CO2, while women often travel by more en vironmentally-friendly means of transport. For example, it is esti mated that men represent 75 per cent of all driving in Sweden. Another reason is that climate changes affect men and women differently. For example, many more women than men drown in climate-related natural disasters such as f looding because they are unable to swim or to climb trees. According to Rebecca Pearl, a study from the London School

Survey of gender equality Norway and the other countries of the Nordic region have consistently held a first position, regarding global gender equality achievements. What does this persistent development consist of? And what are the results for society as a whole, for example, in terms of quality of life, and the level of violence? The answers, described in this report, are relevant for anyone concerned with achieving gender equality and ending male dominance in the world today. The report describes the most detailed survey of gender equality in the Nordic region so far – mapping not just attitudes, but practices and resources also. Issues like violence and rape, as well as health and friendship, are included. Download the report at www.nikk.no.

The Nordic Countries

Multidimensional discrimination policies NIKK has published a new report on multidimensional anti-discrimination policies charting status in the Nordic countries. The report describes former and current anti-discrimination legislation and charts current proposals within legislation and administration towards a new policy in the field. Download the report at www.nikk.no

of Economics concludes that gender differences in mortality rates in the event of climate-rela ted natural disasters are directly linked to women’s economic and social rights.

Decision making A third factor is that the gender division in the decision-making processes for climate negotiations is uneven. For example, the pro portion of women delegation lead ers in the UN climate negotiations is only 15–20 per cent. In order to include both women’s and men’s local knowledge, and to change both women’s and men’s beha viour patterns, both sexes must

be involved when important de cisions on the climate are made. Ulf Rikter-Svendsen from the Norwegian Reform – Resource Centre for Men, was one of the experts on the panel. He stressed that men must not be made scape goats in the climate debate. “It is important to include the perspective of men and boys in the climate debate. However, the stereotype of the man as the bad party is not very helpful. Making men into scapegoats with regard to the climate will only put the brakes on the work.” silje bergum kinsten/ norden.org

iceland

New international research centre A new international research centre on gender equality and diversity opened in December 2008 at the University of Iceland. At the same time, a study programme, focusing on gender equality in relation to peace and security, and the establishment of gender equality work in former conflict regions, started. The target group are employees within public administration and NGOs in former conflict areas.

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current quoted:

“If there are those who fear that by this suggestion I press for more women on boards and committees, their fear is totally well-founded.” – the danish gender equality minister karen jespersen on the suggestion that places are to be kept empty unless the terms of the gender equality act are met .

finland

UN criticizes Finland

Sweden

Search a researcher In the new database Greda, Gender Researchers Database, you can find Swedish gender researchers. The purpose is to give journalists, conference organizers, researchers, etc, a simple and direct opportunity to find information about and get in touch with gender researchers. Greda is developed by The Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research and The Women’s History Collections at Gothenburg University Library. Similar databases are used in other Nordic countries. www.databasengreda.se

The UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the CEDAW Committee) has criticized Finland for the country’s lack of measures when it comes to violence against women. Despite the Finnish society being very gen der-equal in many areas, the CEDAW Com mittee has noted that violence against women is common in the country. In order to combat the problem, the Committee suggested that the authorities should appoint a working group, chaired by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. The CEDAW Committee also pointed to the fact that girls are assaulted in school and public places. In the new Finnish gender equality pro gramme one of the main points is to combat violence against women. Heidi Hautala, Chair of the Council for Gender Equality at the Min istry of Social Affairs and Health, has expres sed a wish to expedite this work, referring to good examples in other Nordic countries. Two comparable national studies of vio lence against women in Finland, carried out

male violence against women

20%

of Finnish women have experienced violence or threats of violence in their couple relationship.

50%

of Finnish women have experienced violence or threats of violence in former couple relationships.

in 1997 and 2005, show that little changed in the eight years between the studies. Professor Niklas Bruun from the University of Helsinki has been elected Nordic represen tative in the CEDAW Committee from 1 Jan uary 2009. Professor Bruun holds long exper tise in discrimination legislation and a broad Nordic perspective.

sweden

The Swedish Secretariat for Gender Resarch has received a new assignment from the Swedish government. The purpose is to form a support for governmental agencies in their work with gender mainstreaming. The programme contains following tasks: - develop methods for gender mainstreaming, - create a forum for the exchange of experiences on gender mainstreaming, - inform about gender mainstreaming and - create the conditions for a long term support for gender mainstreaming. The Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research has received 13 million SEK to complete the mission.

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In the footsteps of Norway? When Norway followed the example of Sweden and criminalised the buying of sex, they also criminalised the buying of sexual services abroad. Now the Swedes, in turn, want to do as Norway has done. “Norway has gone a step further by also cri minalising the buying of sex abroad. I think we should absolutely follow their example,” says Lena Olsson, legal policy spokesperson for the Left Party of Sweden, in the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. The party now wants a ban to be intro duced on buying sex outside of Sweden’s bor

ders. The suggestion has broad political support. For example, former Minister of Justice, Social Democrat Thomas Bodström, regards it as a natural further step for Swedish legislation. The present Minister of Justice, Beatrice Ask from the right-wing party Moderaterna, also finds the Norwegian model very interesting.

Illustration photos: Colourbox

Programme for gender mainstreaming

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

8 Somebody is making you feel stupid! 12 Gender equality only where visible 16 The road towards 40%

Focus:

20 Margot WallstrĂśm on leadership and politics 22 European Parliament shows little interest

leadership Different sets of logic govern politics and industry. There is still a compact male-dominance at top levels in the world of business. Within Nordic politics, however, women have managed to achieve leading positions. One of the pioneers is Berit Ă&#x2026;s, who was the first Norwegian female party chair. NIKK magasin 1.09

Focus: Leadership

Somebody is making you feel stupid! “Hearing that you’re not stupid has a liberating effect.” So says Berit Ås, known for her theory on master suppression techniques. At 80, she and her work continue to attract wide interest. by Bosse Parbring

erit Ås lives in Asker outside of Oslo, close to the Oslo fjord, in a house built in the 1960s. When she and her family moved here, the house was newly built and she had a vision of creating an area of shared spaces and services such as childcare and cooking. Unfortunately, to her disappointment the project fell through. But she still lives in the same municipality where she started her political activities. When I ring her doorbell, I see two symbols important to her on the house. One is on a sticker with the message “No to the EU”. Berit Ås chaired the campaign Women against the EU, which contributed to the Norwegians voting no to membership in 1972. Next to the sticker, there is a ceramic plate with a dove and the text ”Nuclear weapon free zone here”. Berit Ås has been involved in peace issues for a long time and was a founding member of Women for Peace. In 2008, Berit Ås turned 80. She opens the door, and I meet a woman who is still active. “I’ve just returned from ten days in Sweden, where I gave lectures in various places around the country. Her 80th birthday has been celebrated in many ways. In Sweden, the journalist Ami Lönnroth has published a book of interviews with her called Förbannad är jag ganska ofta (I’m Quite Often Fuming). The Swedish author Anette Utterbäck has, for her part, written about the life of Berit Ås in fictional form in her novel Vikingadotter (Viking Daughter). In Norway, Ebba Haslund, author and friend of Berit Ås,

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has made a portrait of her in the book Ild fra Asker (Fire from Asker). In addition, Berit Ås’s Norwegian publisher will issue a revised edi tion of her book Kvinner i alle land – en håndbok i frigjøring (Women in all Countries – A Handbook of Liberation). “In two years, three portraits have been made of me,” says Berit Ås. Ebba and I have met up every two weeks. This has kept me alive. The work has given me back my life. I’ve had to look things up in books and search for old articles in the papers.” Berit Ås is best known for her theories on the five master sup pression techniques. She has written on them in various contexts, but, above all she has travelled and lectured about them. “Everybody says I must write a little book on master suppression techniques. I’m satisfied that others have written about this now.”

Should be beneficial Her parents were teachers. Her mother was politically active and her father was an amateur inventor who never made any money from his inventions. The heritage from both is discernible in the life of Berit Ås. Her engagement in and her theories about master suppres sion techniques could have earned her a lot of money. But she has mostly been interested in the practical advantages her ideas can give people in their everyday lives. “Our family has this basic idea that what we do should be bene ficial.”

Photo: Bosse Parbring

Focus: Leadership

“I started talking about master suppression techniques so that women in the Norwegian Labour Party, Arbeiderpartiet wouldn’t feel that they were stupid. And then the idea has spread. When so many recognise themselves in the theory, it means there is some truth in it.” Berit Ås was first active in the Labour Party at a local level. Traffic safety, childcare and the situation of women were issues that she was particularly involved in. She has also done research into child traffic safety at the University of Oslo. Later she was able to focus on research in the subject she was most interested in, namely women’s studies, and finally she became Professor in So cial Psychology. As local politician, she, together with a few other women, led a “women’s coup” in 1971, which resulted in a female majority in the municipal executive board. But she was obstructed by men in the party. In 1972 Berit Ås was expelled by the Labour Party during the EU debate. The following year she became the first Norwegian female party leader – of the newly established party of the Democratic Socialists (AIK). Several left-wing parties later joined forces and in 1975 established the Socialist Left Party; Berit Ås became its first leader. It was, above all, her experiences of being a woman in politics that inspired her theories on master suppression techniques. This is how Berit Ås herself puts it in the book by Ami Lönnroth:

“It was in the beginning of my political career. I was at a party meeting where I myself and two men were to speak. The three of us sat next to each other, facing the other participants. I then realised that people were not listening to me, and at first I did not understand what was happening. People were scratching their heads, whispering among themselves, turning away. So I thought that perhaps I could use the same observation methods that I had learnt as social psychologist. I had always given my students the advice that one should observe all people in a room, but at this meeting I had not seen the persons who sat next to me. So next time I made a suggestion, I pulled my chair half a metre back so that I could see what the person sitting next to me did. And it was he who yawned and looked awfully tired, it was he who talked to the man next to him, it was he who took out a newspaper and started reading, it was he who got up to get a glass of water. Very clear bodily expressions which cannot be directly translated to meaningful words. It was obvious that it was he who made me invisible and ridiculed me by his body language. I then went home and practiced his methods.” In her theory on the five master suppression techniques, Berit Ås’s point of departure is that women and men live in fundamentally different cultures. “It’s important to understand what I mean by culture. If two groups are different at five various levels, then it is a question of different cultures. They are constructed by different structures. A

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Focus: Leadership

First female party leader. In 1972, Berit Ås was elected leader of the Democratic Socialists. Later, she became leader of the Socialist Left Party. Photo: Henrik Laurvik/NTB/SCANPIX

culture has a tendency to misunderstand causes and effects about a foreign culture.” “Men say, for example, that women have intuition. This is wrong. It’s a question of a fixed law within female culture. That is, things are connected in a different way than within a male culture.” Even if much has happened over the last few decades in the rela tions between women and men – not least in the Nordic countries – Berit Ås thinks that we can still talk about a female and a male culture. “The spirit of the times changes through history. In the 20th century, we moved from fascism to social democracy and further to competitive capitalism. In all these systems things are organised so that it is legal to abuse women. Women taking the position of the suppressed is a stable trait.” But female culture holds a constructive potential in itself, Berit Ås thinks. “Large groups of women talk about our children and grandchildren. They see that what we do here and now is important for the future.” In times of crisis – such as after World War II and during the present financial crisis – more women are allowed to take on leading positions.

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“Then men take over again when things have been rebuilt. I almost hesitate to say this, because it is so vulgar. Patriarchy holds other large systems in place. One can ref lect over why patriarchy pursues us all the time.” According to Berit Ås, the various cultures are kept in place, among others, by master suppression techniques. “The suppression techniques I have studied are not such that men can use against men and women against women. Men use more aggressive methods against men and women more subtle methods against women. I haven’t studied how women suppress men, but there are such methods, too. But there are instances of men suppres sing women everywhere. Very few have grasped this. It is often part of the body language. Women don’t understand that men communi cate this and men don’t understand that women don’t understand. We get different languages for communication when boys and girls are raised into a male versus a female world.” But are not most children – both girls and boys – still raised in female-dominated environments? “Although the early years are dominated by women, it is obvious from the moment children partake of the internet and other media that they live in a strongly gendered world. Previously it was important to look at the family situation, but there are also other important areas.” “In order to study this, one needs to take on the internal approach of anthropologists instead of the external approach of sociologists.” Can a man be an “anthropologist” and enter a female culture? Yes, it might be possible. But it’s not all that easy for women to gain a thorough understanding of men. There have been many im provements for women, but some things do not change.” Isn’t that view based on a black-and-white and essentialist division of what is masculine and what is feminine? “There are many individuals who act differently, but this is at system level. If many individuals act differently, a change of the system might be achieved.” “It’s very good that we now have laws that allow women to think and do research, but when we look at the systemic level, this hasn’t changed.” So changes in legislation are important, but they do not change the deeper differences between women and men? “Legal changes are important since with time they result in fury. ‘Isn’t anything going to happen?’ one asks. When there is a big gap between objectives and reality, this leads to tensions and demands for change.” Berit Ås thinks it is almost impossible to get rid of master suppres sion techniques. They are the result of a learning process matching that of Pavlov’s dogs, which leads to women being more timid of rai sing their voices than men. Culture is imbedded in the musculature. “In the deficient communication between women and men, body language becomes important in order to maintain the power struc

Focus: Leadership

ture. Gender roles are upheld through failing communication. The same pattern occurs around the world. It is an aggressive ex pression by those who have had the power for hundreds of years. Living in stressful times, as we do, results in a more aggressive use of master suppression techniques at individual, group and state level.” But what, then, can lead to change? Well, the classic feminist strategy – awareness-raising. “Hearing that you’re not stupid has a liberating effect. The idea is that there is somebody making you stu pid. It’s something external, called a master suppression technique.” Berit Ås mentions the suppression technique of “blaming and shaming” as an example: “So, you want to take money from day-care and use it on care of the elderly?” “Each time you intellectualise, you reduce the emotional sys tem. It gives you calmness. It’s difficult to decondition this, but it’s possible.” “I’ve been in Umeå in Sweden several times. Each time, the same lady sits in the front row. I say to her that she doesn’t need to come back, she has already heard what I’m going to say. But she says she must hear it again. All her life she has been told that it’s her fault.” Many have obviously identified themselves with this, since Berit Ås’s theory on master suppression techniques has had such an impact. Recently, a group of women at Stockholm University have developed strategies for encountering master suppression techniques. Berit Ås warmly welcomes such initiatives. But others have wanted to increase the number of suppression techniques. That, she is not so fond of. “Who are those who are often suppressed? It’s often those who have not studied that much. But they can feel things. How are you to choose words that they recognise? There are those who say that there are more master suppression techniques. But if you group them, they can be categorized within the five suppression techni ques. Of course things overlap. When you are made invisible you experience shame.” The fact that the master suppression techniques can be counted on the fingers of one hand, makes it easy to point out that suppression techniques are being used in a room. “When you are made invisible, you raise a thumb, which means master suppression technique num ber one. You then have your own language. You have five words that mean something. People can’t remember 28 words. So if it is to have real meaning and give people something, these five are enough.” “Originally, I only thought of giving this to a group of women in politics. Women become more and more quiet when they are not taken seriously. This had an efficient therapeutic effect. The thing of making you feel stupid disappears when you intellectualise is. That is how it works.”

The master suppression techniques

Making invisible To quiet or marginalise oppositional persons by ignoring them.

Ridiculing To use manipulative ways to depict somebody’s arguments or personality as ridiculous and unimportant. This is done by, for example using striking but irrelevant images. Another way is to comment on a person’s appearance in front of a group.

Withholding information To exclude somebody or marginalise her role by withholding essential information from her.

Double binding Putting somebody in a situation where she is belittled and punished regardless of which alternative she chooses.

Blaming and shaming To get somebody to be ashamed of their characteristics, or suggesting that something they have been the victim of is their own fault. Source: Wikipedia

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Focus: Leadership

Gender equality only where visible “The lack of women leaders is not a luxury problem. It is a question of democracy and justice,” says Professor Anita Göransson from Sweden, who is engaged in research on elites in society. by Bosse Parbring illustration: trude tjensvold

nita Göransson is an economic historian, Professor in Gender, Economic Change and Organi sation at Linköping University and Professor of Gender History at the University of Gothenburg. She is some times confronted with the view that initia tives in research and politics should not focus on an already privileged group of women, but instead be targeted at women who have less power. But according to Anita Göransson, everything is interconnected. “The lack of women leaders is a strong indicator of the position of women in society. If they, or any other group, do not have access to power on equal grounds with men, it is a sure sign of shortcomings in society as a whole.” In 2006, Anita Göransson and her research team presented a broad overview of the people holding power in all the important domains in Sweden. The material for the

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investigation – a survey and a questionnaire inquiry – dated back to 2001. She therefore returned to the subject in late 2007, which resulted in an updated survey, published in the form of a Swedish government report (SOU 2007:108). In the six years between the investigations, no major changes had occur red. But the updated survey also covers lower levels in society, which allows Anita Görans son to draw the following conclusion: “Gender equality exists mainly at the level of highly visible positions at the top, where there is a public pressure for it. There is a certain hypocrisy about the situation.” At the Swedish national level, the domain which is most gender balanced is politics, where at least 40 per cent of both genders are represented. But there is also a fairly good gender balance in other positions where the political logic of democracy and representa tion has some influence: in ministries, autho rities and public institutions.

At the Swedish regional and local levels, however, things look considerably less rosy. In municipal assemblies, there may be a fair balance, but top positions in the municipali ties are usually occupied by men. Seven out of ten Swedish municipal commissioners, including commissioners representing the political opposition, chairs of municipal assemblies and of municipal executive com mittees, are male. “Municipalities are something of a black spot when it comes to gender equality,” says Anita Göransson. “In general, research has focussed on the central government level, but I believe we should take a closer look at the municipalities.” There are also regional differences, and major cities are more gender-equal than the countryside. There are also differences be tween the political parties.” Research into power structures in other Nordic countries has shown that the diffe

Focus: Leadership

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Focus: Leadership rences at national and local level are similar. In Finland, a research programme in this field, which includes a component on gender and power, has been launched only recently, and it is still too early to draw any conclu sions. But in Norway and Denmark, investi gations into power structures, integrating a gender perspective, were completed a few years ago. Hege Skjeie is Professor of Political Science at Oslo University. In 2003, she presented her findings from the Norwegian investigation into power that she carried out together with researcher Mari Teigen. “Pressure may be stronger at a national level,” she says. “The share of women in chair positions in Norwegian municipalities is 23 per cent. Since there is only one post in each mun icipality, the problem is all the more appa rent. Naturally, it cannot be solved by apply ing quota rules, as there is only one person involved.” Anette Borchorst, Professor in Political Science at Aalborg University in Denmark, headed the research project Kønsmagt i forandring (Changes in Gendered Power), an inte grated part of the Danish investigation into power which was completed in 2002. To her, the picture is all too familiar. “At the local level, we have seen no change since the early 1990s,” says Borchorst. “The problem is that we Danes have this image of Denmark performing well on gen der equality, but when it comes to putting things into practice, this is not the case. Part of the problem is that there is no debate on these matters. In Denmark, it is not an issue in the same way as it is in Sweden.” “The share of women leaders in Denmark is extremely low compared to other EU mem ber states. Only Malta and Cyprus do worse than Denmark.” “Denmark is, however, one of the coun tries performing best on women’s participa tion in the labour market, education for women and organised child care. It is only on leadership that Denmark is falling behind.”

The business world is different If there are shortcomings at the less visible levels in politics, that is nothing compared to commerce and industry – a domain of total male dominance. According to Statistics Swe den, 72 per cent of Swedish managerial posts are held by men. Female managers are found mainly in the municipal administrations, where six out of ten managers are women. In the private sector, only one in five mana

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Photo: Jann Lipka

“Municipalities are something of a black spot when it comes to gender equality.” –

anita göransson

gers is a woman. Women in top positions are few and far between. According to the Swe dish business magazine Veckans Affärer, 87 per cent of the top positions (chair of the board, managing director, marketing mana ger, financial manager and human resource manager) are held by men. “I find it interesting that the situation is so different in the business world,” says Anita Göransson. “I think there is some variation between countries in this sector.” “In Norwegian commerce and industry, there is a male dominance of over 90 per cent at the very top,” says Hege Skjeie. “There is no great difference between public and private companies.” In Sweden, however, there is a difference. “It is mainly public companies that have welcomed women at the top,” says Anita Göransson. “In the private sector, women constitute 18 per cent of board members,

whereas the percentage in the public sector is 49. The question is what happens when state-owned companies are privatised.” But it is still the position within the com pany that counts. In both private and state companies, we usually see men as managing directors and board chairs. “There may be many women on the board, but it will be chaired by a man,” says Anita Göransson. “If there are several board mem bers, it is easier for a woman to take a place on the board. In business, boards are some times enlarged in order to accommodate more women.” In other words, women are welcome only if they do not threaten the positions of men. “This is not difficult to understand,” says Anita Göransson. “You could call it the Huey, Dewey and Louie effect. You prefer people similar to yourself.”

Hierarchical relations important Anita Göransson distinguishes three types of recruitment: • Representational – different groups of people are represented according to the size of the group • Meritocracy – the person who has the best merits is appointed • Co-opting – a group elects its members itself. “One example of co-opting is the Rotary Clubs, but this is also common in, for instance, the world of scientific and cultural academia,

Focus: Leadership and there also seems to be a substantial ele ment of co-opting in business,” says Anita Göransson. “The stronger this element is, the more important it becomes that there is mutual trust among the group members.” Therefore the study of leaders’ networks is important in order to understand the pro cesses of recruitment to top positions. “In a study I carried out a few years ago concerning women’s and men’s managerial careers in the business world, I found that 60 per cent of the managers had never left their line of business and out of these 60 per cent, half had never changed companies. This shows that they are dependent on networks and hierarchical relations.” “It is not until you are general manager that you can change to another trade. By then, you are a generalist.”

Quotas a curiosity For companies to be able to compete for the best people, they need to broaden their recru itment base, according to Anita Göransson. She therefore supports the introduction of gender quotas in the business sector, along the lines of the Norwegian legislation. In Sweden, the introduction of quotas has been subject to an investigation, but so far no deci sion has been taken. “It may be a question of terminology,” says Anita Göransson. “When you talk about quotas, people often think it is a matter of bringing in any woman, who has no idea of the work of a company board. But actually, it is all about promoting the under-represen ted gender in cases where qualifications are equal. Recruiting women who can’t compete on competence and qualifications will only achieve a negative effect.”

“If you can’t prove that you are something different, what is the point?” – hege skjeie

In Denmark, demands for quotas have not been popularly embraced. The Social Demo crats, however, would like to introduce legis lation similar to the Norwegian one. “Quota legislation is very controversial in Denmark,” says Anette Borchorst. “But an increasing number of people would like to introduce it for a transition period. Not in politics, though, but in working life.” Hege Skjeie takes a sceptical view as to whether company board quotas in Norway should be seen as an expression of a strong political will to reduce male dominance per se in business life. At least when it comes to this as an isolated action. “Gender-balanced boards are a good thing, but it matters less if the overall management is male dominated. By this I don’t mean that measures for achieving gender balance on company boards are unimportant as a politi cal action. But it is a curiosity. It is of an ad hoc nature. I don’t see it as part of the greater context, of how politics should relate to the business world.” Measures for increasing the share of women managers are often justified with the argument that diversity pays off. Hege Skjeie finds this kind of thinking dangerous for women. “It is a kind of diversity rhetoric, saying that diversity is positive for the organisation. It may be true. But at the same time, it means

Political representation Share of women/men, in percentages

Denmark Iceland Finland Norway Sweden

Government 35/65 Parliament 37/63 Municipalities 27/73

33/67 33/67 32/68

40/60 42/58 36/64

53/47 38/62 37/63

41/59 47/53 42/58

Sources: www.government.is, www.regjeringen.no, www.regeringen.se, www.folketinget.dk, www.althingi. is, www.stortinget.no, www.riksdagen.se, Statistics Denmark, Statistics Finland, Statistics Iceland, Statistics Norway and Statistics Sweden.

that a burden is placed on women. They will need to show what they are worth.” “It may also lead to a boomerang effect. If you can’t prove that you are something different, what is the point? According to this rhetoric, women in managerial positions have a different burden of proof than men. This is degrading to women. The focus is only on women and not on the institutions.” The question is, however, how business, driven by profit maximisation, can find jus tification elsewhere than in profitability. The logic of representation is not valid to the same extent in business as in politics. “We have a legislative framework in place for the organisation of working life, and we have a duty to actively promote gender equa lity,” says Hege Skjeie. “On environment, health and security, there are many conditions imposed on com panies. The question is how strictly we can impose demands on companies in gender equality matters.”

40 per cent is the limit Anita Göransson differentiates between three levels of gender balance – or imbalance. At the visible national level, where there is public pressure, there is often a proportion of at least 40 per cent women, meaning that the gender balance objective is met. In contexts where there is a consciousness but no pres sure, the share of women is usually no larger than one third. At the third level, there is no aspiration for change and no pressure. “There are those who are still banging their heads against the wall in a situation with only 10 per cent women.” According to Anita Göransson, it is time to abandon the gender balance objective of a minimum of 40 per cent of each gender. In practice, the result is rarely 40 per cent men and 60 per cent women, but almost always the opposite. When the goal of 40 per cent women has been reached, there is no going further. It all looks like a result of minimal adaptation rather than chance. “A few years ago, the goal 50/50 was set for state authorities. This should be a reaso nable aspiration in all areas of society.”

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Focus: Leadership

The gender quota law in Norway

The road towards

“I hope the quota legislation will pave the way for an alternative form of thinking within business – including among those companies not covered by the law,” says Valgerd Svarstad Haugland. by Anne Winsnes Rødland

he former leader of the Norwegian Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti, KrF) was one of the most avid advocates for intro ducing the law on gender repre sentation on the boards of public joint stock companies. In April 2008 she participated in a seminar on this theme at the Institute for Social Research in Oslo. “I am proud of having participated in the creation of this law, particularly since I have been the leader of a party that once voted against the Gender Equality Act,” says Valgerd Svarstad Haugland, who is currently Church Warden in Oslo. The law stipulating that the boards of all public limited companies must have at least a 40 per cent representation of both sexes was accepted by the Norwegian Parliament, Stortinget, in 2003. In 2002, the proportion of women on corporate boards amounted to only 6 per cent, but today all have reached 40 per cent. Valgerd Svarstad Haugland emphasizes that quotas are simply a means to an end, not an end in themselves.

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“I am proud of having participated in the creation of this law.” –

valgerd svarstad haugland

Controversial law “We, who have been the subjects of quotas, are so because we are competent women, and we provide diversity. I would never have been elected party leader unless I had also had other qualities in addition to being a woman. Besides, such a high female representation on corporate boards would never have been achieved unless we had introduced this law. There are always competent men who get the jobs because they know somebody. Women possess a great deal of competence and edu cation, which is lost to society unless actively taken into use. Since the business world failed to increase the proportion of women on the boards sufficiently by means of their own initiative, despite honeyed promises, we needed to employ more effective methods,” says Valgerd Svarstad Haugland. She does, however, underline that she hopes the law will become unnecessary in the long run. The issue of a possible quota act was first raised many years ago. Such a law was, for example, suggested in connection with a hea ring in 1999 on a revision of the Gender Equa lity Act. The suggestion for the current legis lation was, however, presented by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ansgar Gabrielsen (of the conservative party, Høyre), and the Minis ter of Gender Equality, Laila Dåvøy (Christian Democrats), at a press conference in 2002.

Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen/Scanpix

40%

“Ruling techniques are still commonly used in many environments, and there are many ways of squeezing women out if they are in a minority,” she points out. Finn Bergesen, Administrative Director of the Confederation of Norwegian Enter prise (NHO), also participated in the semi nar. Even though he maintains a very posi tive attitude to women on company boards, he is not that pleased with the stipulations of the legislation. “There are two basic things that are wrong with quotas. Firstly, people will ask whether the women are there because of their gender or because of their competence. Secondly, it’s not right to make decisions on behalf of the owners as to who they are to appoint to their board,” he thinks. Svarstad Haugland does not agree.

Focus: Leadership “The sceptics clearly protested that this would entail extensive, negative consequences for the Oslo Stock Exchange and for the willingness of international capital to invest in Norway.”

“There was great resistance to such a law within the world of business, and they were strongly opposed to the threat of forced dis solution attached to it. Therefore one might have believed that the companies would have recruited women in time to avoid the law coming into force. Nevertheless, the an nual development of the companies showed that progress was very slow. When the gen der composition of the boards was calcu lated, as agreed, in the autumn 2005, the proportion of women amounted to only 17.8 per cent. Thus the matter was clear, and the Government had to put the law into force from the beginning of the following year,” Hoel recalls. “Today, many business managers say that it would have been best if the companies had been able to increase the proportion of wo men on a voluntary basis, without the enfor cement of the law. So it’s strange that the efforts weren’t greater during the years when they had the opportunity to prevent the law from coming into force,” Marit Hoel thinks.

Photo: Berit Roald /Scanpix

Important measure

“A hundred Norwegian top managers were present at the conference, and there were many strong reactions to the suggestion. The sceptical ones – who formed a majority – clearly protested that this would entail ex tensive, negative consequences for the Oslo Stock Exchange and for the willingness of international capital to invest in Norway at all,” recalls researcher Marit Hoel. She is Director of the Center for Corporate Div ersity and has closely followed the process towards achieving a proportion of 40 per cent of women on company boards. Each year she has published overviews of the

situation on the boards and in the manage ment structures of companies. From 2000 to 2003 she studied the 250 largest companies, but since then she has monitored all public limited companies.

Slow process What was special about the parliamentary decision in 2003 was that it passed something as unusual as a conditional law. It would come into force on 1 January 2006, but only if the public limited companies had not man aged to achieve a 40 per cent gender repre sentation on their own.

Bjørg Ven is a private lawyer and partner in the law firm Haavind Vislie. She has exten sive experience of being on corporate boards, for example in Dagbladet, Norsk Vekst, Tele nor, Orkla and Vital. She is also member of the elective committee for Yara. “I don’t know whether there is any obvi ous difference between women and men on company boards, but I think having women present can contribute to a positive tone. And I don’t disagree with the idea that gender might have an inf luence on the market in sight in smaller consumer-oriented compa nies,” says Ven. “Regardless of this, I think the most im portant feature of this board reform was that we got greater diversity and more people to choose from. In addition, we now have a public debate and greater awareness of the demands on board members and what kind of competencies we want on the boards,” she adds. As a female board member she has expe rienced a great deal of international interest in the Norwegian development.

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“A Japanese female reporter visited me, and she was awestruck by how far we have come. The German, French and Dutch press have also shown great interest,” she says.

Enough women? Bjørg Ven does not agree with those who claim that it is difficult to find enough com petent women. “Even if there are perhaps not that many, there are enough. I’ve also heard it being said that the new law opens the doors on the boards for young women with less experi ence and competence than that traditionally needed by men in order to become board members. So what? is my reaction to this. It forces these women to prove themselves and show that they can fill the role they have been offered. If they don’t manage that, they are simply replaced,” she points out. Finn Bergesen, however, sees a risk in the recruitment of women: “The Old Boys’ Network has to a certain extent been replaced by the Winning Women’s Club, and I think it’s impossible to do a good job with a seat on 10 different boards,” he says. “There are still many more men than women who are wholesalers in the board business. We should concern ourselves with that,” replies Svarstad Haugland.

Taboo broken in Denmark The Danish Social Democrats have suggested the introduction of gender quotas in order to get more women onto company boards. In Sweden, the propor tion of women in this sector has remained unchanged over the last few years. by Anne Winsnes Rødland

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“The politicians have introduced legal restrictions on businesses, which they wouldn’t want for themselves,”

Researcher Mari Teigen from the Insti tute for Social Research (ISF) finds it inte resting how easy it was, after all, to find women for the boards. “They just had to look for them in slightly different ways than those they were used to,” she says, referring to a recently finished master’s thesis by Aslak Hetland. Teigen is director for the research group Gender and Society at ISF, and is also enga ged in the new research project “Gender Quotas in Boards of Large Joint Stock Com panies. Democracy vs. Inclusion?”, which is a joint project with the Department of Sociology at the University of Bergen and the Department of Economics at the Aarhus School of Business. It is divided into four sub-projects. One focuses on the recruitment to company boards and ways into the boards. Another sub-project analyses overlapping directorships, and the third one looks at the effects of the gender relations in board rooms. The fourth sub-project explores the connection between the composition of the board and the company’s profitability.

Unorthodox intervention

mari teigen, researcher

“Personally, I have been quite preoccupied by this issue, since I think it’s a very special question concerning gender equality policy. The government has introduced regulation

According to Danish gender researchers, the proposal by the Social Democrats has bro ken a taboo in Danish public life. “In recent years, it’s been totally impos sible to put forward suggestions on gender quotas,” says Elisabeth Møller Jensen, Direc tor of KVINFO, to Dagbladet Information. The Social Democrats suggested that Danish companies listed on the stock exchange should get four years to reach a 40 per cent proportion of women on their boards. If they failed to do this, the com pany would face forced dissolution. “Gender equality develops too slowly in the boardrooms. We have seen that the little push that the legislation gave Norwegian companies has had an impact. This is what we need in Denmark, too,” says the Social Democrat Chair Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Even if Gender Equality Minister Karen Jespersen (Venstre, Denmark’s Liberal Party) understands that women are impatient, she dismisses the suggested quota system. “I think there are far better methods to

pursue,” she says to Dagbladet Information. Soon after the Social Democratic suggestion on gender quotas, Karen Jespersen instead introduced a new charter to get more women onto company boards and into management structures. It has been developed in co-oper ation between the Gender Equality Minister, five private companies and five public orga nisations. The aim is that at least 100 com panies will have joined by the year 2010. “By signing the charter, they commit themselves to working towards getting more women managers at all levels. The charter includes concrete objectives for the work, in order to achieve visible results,” says Jespersen. Today, there are only 48 women on the boards of Danish listed companies. The proportion of women thus amounts to 5.6 per cent. As a comparison, the law on gen der balance on the boards of Norwegian public companies has resulted in there being 64 Danish women on the boards of Norwegian listed companies.

–

Photo: Anne Winsnes Rødland

Focus: Leadership

Focus: Leadership into areas that earlier would have been unthinkable. I think it’s very interesting that there are no legislated quotas for Nor wegian political parties, even if several of them have initiated quotas themselves. These same politicians have introduced le gal restrictions on businesses, which they wouldn’t want for themselves,” Teigen points out. She finds it exciting that this law has given gender researchers an entry into stu dying processes in business life. “We now have access to an institutional culture towards which we have directed very little interest in the past. It will, for example, be fascinating to study mecha nisms of inclusion and exclusion. Is the fact that there are so few women in top positions within the private sector in Norway due to women choosing other routes, or are they excluded? Studies show that women in leading positions in the private sector disap pear into the public sector when they have children. Why is this the case? Marit Hoel is working on an analysis of, among other things, the effects of the legal reform so far on the joint stock companies since it came into force in 2003. Before the analysis is finished, she finds it difficult to say anything on the consequences of the law for gender equality in Norway. She does,

however, think that much depends on the choices the new women on the boards make and their strategies of “standing out/sticking together” or “blending in”.

In Sweden, the proportion of women on the boards of listed companies is still under 20 per cent. “It’s obvious that the businesses are not managing to shed the patriarchal pattern of thinking. We need political decisions in or der to achieve some change,” says Gudrun Schyman, spokesperson for Feminist Initia tive, to Dagens Nyheter. She thinks Norway provides a model with the law on a 40 per cent proportion of women on the boards of public companies. The proportion of women on boards of Swedish listed companies is 18.2 per cent. Last year, it was 18.3 per cent. It seems that the proportion remains unchanged, even if statistics for this year are based on informa tion from only about half of the companies. Although there are no propositions for a law on gender quotas on Swedish corporate boards, the previous – Social Democratic – government prepared the ground for this just before the government change in 2006. Investigator Catarina af Sandeberg recom

mended that a requirement of at least a 40 per cent representation of both sexes would, at the first stage, pertain to public joint stock companies with many shareholders and to totally state-owned companies The debate on a possible quota law died down when the right-wing and centre par ties won the election in the following year. “The proportion of women on boards was increasing strongly up to 2005. In the last two years, however, during the term of the centre-right majority government, the increase has stagnated. It might prove dif ficult for the present government to explain that the recruitment of women stopped when the debate petered out,” says resear cher Marit Hoel, Director of the Center for Corporate Diversity. She thinks that the Social Democrats will put forward a propo sition if they win the election again in 2010. Researcher Mari Teigen from the Institute for Social Research is not so convinced. “It’s actually very interesting to compare Norway and Sweden. In Sweden, there is a

Positive side effects? “They must make some choices in respect of what they stand for and how clear they want to make it that they are on the board because of the interest of politicians. I think they hold various views on this. Some will want to focus on issues connected to the company’s gender equality policies, its ac countability in the area and so on. Others will avoid this, not wanting it to seem that they are on the board partly because of their gender,” Hoel thinks. Valgerd Svarstad Haugland hopes the law on gender representation on corporate boards will function as a lighthouse for smaller companies, and in general make way for alternative ways of thinking, so that changes will also happen in those firms not covered by the law. “We must give women the self-confi dence to dare take on both commissions of trust and top jobs. These things do not hap pen overnight,” she stresses.

gender representation The legal stipulation that all public joint stock companies must have a representation of at least 40 per cent of each gender on their boards came into force on 1 January 2006. The law was passed by the Stortinget as a conditional law in December 2003. This meant that the law would come into force in case the public joint stock companies did not manage to reach the target of a 40 per cent gender representation by themselves by the autumn of 2005. According to the law, all companies established and registered before 1 January 2006 must, within two years, have a board composed corresponding to the law. Companies established after the law entered into force, must have a legally composed board from the start. 395 public companies fulfilled the requirement at the time of counting in January 2008. 77 companies did not fulfil the demands, and got their first warning for forced dissolution. In the end, all adjusted to the law, and no companies were forced to dissolve.

much more intense and controversial gen der equality debate than in Norway. Never theless, it is Norway who has introduced gender quotas, which is regarded as a radi cal measure,” she points out. Teigen thinks this can be explained by Norway having a strong tradition of government interven tion, and that the population can be said to be more supportive of the state. “Those trying to create a change are likely to form strong alliances with the state. In addition, Norway has had quotas for pub lic boards and committees for several years, which is not the case in Sweden. I doubt that the Swedes would have introduced quotas even if the Social Democratic govern ment had been re-elected,” says Teigen. As to Denmark, Marit Hoel thinks that a possible law on quotas lies a long way ahead. She does note, however, that much depends on the government constellations. Anne Winsnes Rødland is a journalist and former Information Officer at NIKK.

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Focus: Leadership

”As long as politics is male dominated, there will be a need for female networks, for mobilising and supporting female politicians who advocate other and different solutions, based on their perspectives and experiences,” says Margot Wallström, VicePresident of the European Commission. by Bosse Parbring

The most powerful woman in the EU

Margot Wallström on leadership and politics

argot Wallström has plenty of experience in politics. She has been Minister for Civil Service Affairs, for Culture and for Social Af fairs in various Swedish Social Democratic governments. In 1999, she was appointed Environment Commissioner and in 2004, first Vice-President of the European Commis sion, becoming the first woman to attain this level in the EU hierarchy. As a pre-eminent female leader, Margot Wallström has been awarded a place in the Women World Leaders network, together with other well-known Nordic politicians such as former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, former President of Ice land Vigdís Finnbogadóttir and the current President of Finland, Tarja Halonen. The purpose of the 10-year-old network is to mobilise women at the highest political level for common action on issues vital for women and for the promotion of equality. “The principal mission is to promote good

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leadership and strengthen global democracy by increasing the number of women leaders worldwide, and boosting their impact and visibility,” says Margot Wallström. Ms Wallström is the chair of the Council of Women World Leaders Ministerial Initia tive. Within the framework of this initiative, ministers and other women leaders work together within seven sectors: environment, finance, economy and development, equality, health and culture. For each sector, a sepa rate network has been created. “A key function of the network is to pro mote skills development for young female leaders,” says Margot Wallström. Cooperating with the universities of Harvard and Colum bia, we have launched a trainee programme for promising young women, who are given the opportunity to work together with net work members and other female leaders. To date, 62 young women and one man have participated in the programme. When former Swedish Social Democratic Party leader Göran Persson announced that

he would step down after the election defeat in 2006, many Social Democrats would have liked to see Margot Wallström as the new party leader. But she declined, on several oc casions, stating as her reason that she wanted to fulfil her mission in Brussels. The man date of the present European Commission will end in 2009.

No falling for dirty tricks The tense relations between Margot Wall ström and Göran Persson have been much publicized. Mr Persson made no secret of his efforts to bring back Ms Wallström from Brussels. Her answer was still no. It was also Mr Persson who delayed the decision of nominating her as Swedish EU Commissioner the second time around. In the run-up to the Swedish elections in 1998, the two of them were supposed to lead the Social Democrat campaign together. However, the press con ferences where they were both present are often used to illustrate techniques for main taining male dominance: when Ms Wallström

Focus: Leadership

was talking, Mr Persson looked away, fiddled about with the microphone and seemed dis interested. Margot Wallström herself seems weary of being reminded of this episode. “After 30 years in politics, I know better than to fall for dirty tricks that are used to belittle me as a politician and a human being,” she says. In Swedish politics, Ms Wallström has experienced both ups and downs. Are things any different in the EU, then?

No women in top positions “In my experience, there is a workaholic culture in the European Commission. It is a culture that does not favour women.” “The opposition to women politicians at the highest level in the EU is often ref lected in what is not done. Not enough women com missioners are appointed, and the same is true for ministers, director-generals and other top positions.” In 2009, four European top positions will be filled, namely the posts of President of

the European Commission, President of the European Council, President of the European Parliament and High Representative for Foreign Policy. None of the candidates put forward for these posts is a woman. “This is a great mistake, because it rein forces the image of the EU as a male domi nated project,” says Ms Wallström. Has the equality situation been better or worse in the EU, compared to your time as a minister in Sweden? “In Sweden, gender equality issues are more visibly included on the political agenda. There is a greater general consciousness as to equality.” “The EU consists of 27 member states, and the level of equality varies from country to country. It is a well-known fact that the Nordic countries are more progressive in equality matters than most. But this gives no reason for bragging or believing that this is true in all fields relating to equality. On particular points, other countries may be more advanced. Thanks to the EU, Sweden

Techniques for maintaining male dominance. “After 30 years in politics, I know better than to fall for dirty tricks that are used to belittle me as a politician and a human being,” says Margot Wallström on the subject of the electoral campaign she led together with prime minister Göran Persson. Photo: Roger Turesson/Scanpix

has introduced legislation against the discri mination of part-time workers, for example.” Are there areas where the EU is doing better on equality than Sweden? “One of the strengths of the EU is that all 27 member states are pulling in the same direction for improved gender equality. Little by little, this will leave its mark on the formulation of EU policies, which hopefully will favour both women and men. A single country like Sweden cannot inf luence Euro pean policies in the same way.” Do you have any tips for a young woman or man who wants to be a politician? “Be proud of yourself and of what you are doing. Create a network you can turn to for support.”

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Focus: Leadership

European Parliament shows little interest “The Gender Equality Committee of the European Parliament runs the risk of being abolished,” says Committee Vice Chair Eva-Britt Svensson. Several Nordic MEPs paint a gloomy picture of gender equality in the European Parliament. by Bosse Parbring

he Committee for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality has no leg islative function. The European Parliament has been given a more legislative role, and this role will be strengthened if the Lisbon Treaty comes into force in 2009. According to Eva-Britt Svensson of the Swedish Left Party, there will then be a risk that the Gender Equality Com mittee will be abolished. “There are powerful forces that use the development of the EU as a pretext for devo ting less time in plenary sessions to matters other than legislation. The number of owninitiative reports allowed in the legislative process at the same time has decreased from six to three. If there is a further reduction,

the basis for the existence of our committee is threatened.” “This will reduce our work to a bare-bones version of what we’ve been doing so far. Much of the gender equality work is about forming public opinion, of highlighting issues and increasing the knowledge of other MEPs.” According to several Nordic MEPs, gender equality issues have a low status in the European Parliament. Both men and women express their disinterest, or at times, direct opposition. “In a plenary session, a British MEP called the members of the Equality Committee ”les bian man-haters”,” says Eva-Britt Svensson. 30 per cent of the members of the Euro pean Parliament are women. But out of 23

committees, only six are chaired by women. None of the political groups has a female chair. Of the employees of the Parliament, only 20 per cent are women. “It is interesting that we who have been elected haven’t achieved more on women’s issues,” says Finnish former Prime Minister Anneli Jätteenmäki from the Finnish Centre Party. She is also a member of the Gender Equality Committee. “The gender equality issue has been around for 50 years, as one of the bases of the Rome Treaty, but the objectives have still not been met. Many women in the European Parliament are happy with things and think there is no need for action. Many men are against gender equality, but they won’t say anything. They keep quiet.” Anna Hedh from the Swedish Social Democrats is also a member of the Gender Equality Committee. She senses a feeling of hopelessness. “Whenever the Gender Equality Commit tee tables an issue, it is never taken seriously. Even Swedes vote against it. They don’t think that such issues are a matter for the EU.” “There is a trend towards more men in European politics. For the 2009 elections, more women need to be promoted as candi dates.” As of last year, in each parliamentary committee, there should be a person respon sible for gender mainstreaming, reporting to the Gender Equality Committee. “This works only on paper,” says Anna Hedh. “In practice, it boils down to the Chair of each committee saying some nice words.” ”The question is, should we have a Gender Equality Committee? It may be better to set higher demands on the other committees. On the other hand, I think there is a need for it.”

We want a woman. Members of the European Parliament insist that at least one of four EU top positions to be filled in 2009 should be given to a woman. In picture: Diana Wallis, UK, Karin RiisJørgensen, Denmark and Anneli Jäätteenmäki, Finland. Photo: Bosse Parbring

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

24 Will they go the same way? 28 Closeness and control for sale 31 Nordic countries vs. Europe 34 What do numbers tell us? 36 Mobilising public opinion

Focus:

38 Men on the periphery 40 Heated debate 42 Demands for better protection

prostitution Photo: Plainpicture/Parlow, K.

Prostitution is a theme constantly under discussion in the Nordic countries. What do we know about its extent? What attitudes are being expressed? How does legislation handle these issues, and what social measures are taken? NIKK magasin 1.09

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

In just a few years, the body of legislation on prostitution in the Nordic countries has undergone an epoch-making development and become more uniform. The reason for this is the increase in trafficking in humans in the region. Nevertheless, there is not total agreement on the best way to go forward. by ULRikke Moustgaard

Prostitution legislation at a turning point

Will they

go the same way?

n Halmtorvet in Copenhagen, the Danish capital, a continuous stream of cars passes each night. Particularly during the week ends, they crawl past the area where young East-European women stand about selling sexual services. Neither the clients nor the women do anything illegal – as long as the women have a residence permit in the country and pay their taxes. But the situation might change. Denmark is currently in the middle of a heated public debate on trafficking and prostitution, and one sugges tion is that the country should follow its neigh bours and criminalise the buying of sex. In Sweden, Norway and Finland, the legi slation on prostitution has undergone signifi cant changes over the last decade. Sweden was first in banning the buying of sex in 1999. In Finland, a prohibition against buy ing sex from victims of human trafficking was introduced in 2007. And this year, Nor way, too, has decided to outlaw the purchase of sexual services.

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The development has been both rapid – and surprising. “The Nordic prostitution laws have become more uniform, despite the fact that only ten years ago, when the Swedes criminalised the buying of sex, it was, for example, totally unthinkable that a similar discussion would start in Denmark,” says May-Len Skilbrei, Doctor of Political Science working at the research foundation Fafo in Oslo, and coleader of NIKK’s research project Prostitution in the Nordic Countries.

Conflicting views Prostitution has, for a long time, been a contro versial theme in the Nordic countries, since the countries have held very different views of the phenomenon. Sweden and Denmark have represented an extreme standpoint each. While Sweden regarded prostitution as a gender equality issue associated with the so-called theory of gendered power, Denmark had a more libe ral attitude towards prostitution and saw it

as a social problem. Iceland followed the Danish view. Norway and Finland tottered in between. Attitudes moved even further apart when Sweden criminalised prostitution customers in 1999, while Denmark the very same year chose to decriminalize prostitution. In con nection with the 2003 Olympic Games in Athens, the then Swedish Minister for Gen der Equality, Margareta Winberg urged her Nordic and Baltic colleagues to sign a com mon letter of protest against the city’s deci sion to issue licenses for 30 extra brothels to serve the Olympic masses. Her Danish colleague, Henriette Kjær, responded to the initiative by publicly calling it ‘nanny-like’ and ‘a joke’. But since then, the tune has changed. This is due not least to a new tendency in the prostitution market: human trafficking. If the Nordic countries earlier found it difficult to agree on how prostitution should be understood, the increasing trafficking in humans to the region during the last few

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

years has now provided a new and shared point of reference. The media in all the Nordic countries have, from the turn of the millennium onwards, been filled with stories on human traffick ing. The focus has been on women being seriously abused or even forced or kidnapped into the sex business. “The theme of human trafficking is some thing that all can agree on, which has made cooperation easier – and thereby the coun tries have inf luenced each other. This is proved by the changes in the Nordic legis lation; for example, the development of decriminalisation of living on an income from prostitution. Approaches have moved from considering the problem with prosti tution as being that somebody lives off the earnings, to an increased focus on the abuse of people within prostitution,” says May-Len Skilbrei. There has also been agreement as to the need to stir up the general attitudes towards prostitution and trafficking. Together with

the Baltic states, the Nordic Council of Minis ters launched a campaign against trafficking in 2002. “Both the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council wanted to make a joint effort to counteract trafficking. The aim was to trigger a large public debate,” says Carita Peltonen, Senior Adviser for Gender Equality in the Nordic Council of Ministers.

From radical to normal Since then, things have moved very quickly. Finland was the first country, after Sweden, to revise its legislation. “The original proposition was actually modelled on the Swedish law, but the ensu ing public debate in Finland on the issue was so strong, that it resulted in the com promise of only criminalising the buying of sex from victims of human trafficking,” Carita Peltonen explains. Norway will introduce a ban on buying sexual services from the beginning of 2009. In Iceland, the Minister of Justice appointed

Change is possible. Right now, there is a heated debate in Denmark on trafficking and prostitution. Photo: Fredrik Naumann/Samfoto

a committee in 2006 that was to present recommendations on which way to choose in Iceland. Here, the Swedish approach was discussed, but a majority of the committee did not support a suggestion for prohibiting the buying of sex. Instead, the following year Iceland chose the Danish line and decriminalized prosti tutes. And now there is a lively debate also in Denmark on a possible banning of the purchase of sexual services. “Everybody thought that the Swedish law was radical when it was passed in 1999, but this has gradually changed,” Carita Peltonen concludes. Although the Nordic countries have developed more or less along the same lines when it comes to their prostitution legisla tion, there are still big differences between the countries.

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

The sex-purchase laws of Norway and Sweden differ from each other, for example, in that Norwegians are forbidden to buy sex not only in their own country; in future, Norwegian citizens can also be sentenced for buying sex abroad. As has been said above, in Finland only the purchase of sex from victims of human trafficking is punishable, and not one sen tence has so far been given. The definitions of prostitution in the va rious Nordic legislations still also display big differences. In this respect, the Nordic region is divided into two camps: the practical and descriptive, and the moral and normative. The first camp consists of Norway, Finland and Sweden, who give prostitution a concrete definition. The wording in the new Nor wegian law is: “sexual intercourse or action through giving or agreeing on a payment”. Denmark and Iceland form the other camp. Here prostitution is still officially de fined as “sexual indecency”. “This is partly explained by the legisla tion process. Norway and Sweden have car

ried out extensive changes, so it was natural to change also the wording of the law. But the Danish prostitution debate has not resul ted in similar concrete changes in the law, so the wording of the law does not any longer totally correspond to how we think of pro stitution,” says May-Len Skilbrei. On the other hand, the regulations on human trafficking are very uniform in all the Nordic countries. This is primarily explained by the United Nations Palermo Protocol against human trafficking, which the Nordic countries signed in 2000, and today all of them have introduced legislation forbidding trafficking in humans. The Danish legislation remains more or less unchanged, except for a new paragraph on human trafficking in the criminal code. But although the paragraph was introdu ced together with two action plans on traffic king in women, it does not, to date, cover all areas of Danish prostitution. This is the case because there is a large group of women in Denmark who support themselves from pro stitution, but who cannot receive help due

to the strict Danish immigration laws. These are women who have come to Denmark on grounds of marriage or reuniting families, explains Marlene Spanger, doctoral student at the Roskilde University Department of Society and Globalisation in Denmark. “The immigration law requires seven years of marriage before a foreign citizen can get a residence permit in Denmark. This rule and the family supporting duty make these women very vulnerable to abuse and very dependent on their husbands. In case they would need help, they are left in a noman’s-land. They are not interested in getting help through the authorities’ programme for human trafficking victims, since that entails 100 days of residence in Denmark and help in being sent back home. On the contrary, these women want to create a life in Denmark. In addition, this social group also falls outside of the category covered by the criminal code,” she says. Even if the Nordic countries have overcome their fear of dealing with prostitution, it does not mean that prostitution has become a less

1999

2003

2002

2004

Sweden bans the buying of sex. Denmark decriminalizes prostitutes.

Denmark’s first action plan against trafficking in women. Denmark criminalizes human trafficking. Sweden criminalizes human trafficking.

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Norway’s first action plan against human trafficking. Norway criminalizes human trafficking. Iceland criminalizes human trafficking.

Finland criminalizes human trafficking. Sweden revises its law against human trafficking.

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

controversial issue. Today, a variety of dis courses fight for a place on the public stage. The Swedish focus, now joined by the Nor wegian one, on the customers has gained a hearing in the Nordic Council of Ministers. “A big shift has taken place from the early approach, when the main attention was on the women, their social situation and reasons why they had ended up in prostitution. Today the focus has turned onto the customers and the fact that men must also carry their re sponsibility in the fight against human traf ficking,” says Carita Peltonen. On the other hand, new voices opposing bans within prostitution have appeared. Sex workers, sexual-political associations and others increasingly engage in the legislation debate with warnings of a society where people lose their right to decide over their own body. Susanne Dodillet, doctoral student in the History of Science and Ideas at the University of Gothenburg, thinks that the prostitution discourse is about to change in Sweden – the same place where the changes started ten years ago.

“The theory on gendered power and radi cal feminism, which are the ideas behind the Swedish sex-purchase law, are increasingly being questioned in Sweden,” she says. She thinks this is due to international inf luences, such as queer theory – also called the third wave of feminism – that were im ported from the US at the end of the 1990s. “This leads to criticism of a sex-purchase law trying to set the norms for sexuality between adult, consenting people.” Regardless of how the debate will develop, the reforms of the Nordic legislation are not yet completed, May-Len Skilbrei thinks. The prostitution market is changing, and new elements are being introduced, such as prostitution on the internet. “I think we’re going to see big adjustments in the next few years. The situation will change, and the legislation must follow. It must be come even more concrete, when it comes to identifying what forms of involvement in the prostitution of others is to be illegal.” The view of help offered to victims of human trafficking is already changing.

2005

Norway’s second action plan against human trafficking. Sweden tightens its legislation on procuring. Finland’s first action plan against human trafficking.

2007

Finland bans the buying of sex from trafficking victims. Iceland decriminalizes prostitutes and criminalizes profiting on the prostitution of others. Denmark’s second action plan against trafficking in women – now trafficking in humans.

“First, people imagined the worst forms of human trafficking: violent organisations, kidnapping, etc. It was thought that the vic tims must be isolated and protected. Today we know that abuse within prostitution can happen in many ways, and that women who have been abused in the migration and pro stitution process have other needs, such as residence permits,” she explains. On Halmtorvet in Copenhagen the stream of cars continues to pass by, indifferent to the debate. Perhaps the traffic will even in crease, when the new Norwegian law comes into force in the beginning of 2009. At least there were several worried headlines in the Danish newspapers, when the news of the Norwegian ban on purchasing sexual ser vices was published: “Denmark to be the Nordic brothel.” Ulrikke Moustgaard is freelance journalist specialising in gender research.

2008

The Swedish Government presents the country’s first action plan against prostitution and human trafficking to the Parliament. Norway accepts a new law on the banning of buying sex. Iceland prepares its first action plan against human trafficking. Finland’s second action plan against human trafficking.

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

The man who buys sex could be described as a wanted character in prostitution debates, he belongs to a group that is talked about but seldom talked to. The website sexhandel.no (sextrade) is an initiative that enables customers themselves to describe their own thoughts about buying sex. by synnøve jahnsen

Closeness and control for sale W

hy do some men buy sex? This is a question posed in research reports and public debates, and also on the website. One person answered the question somewhat laconically: “because it’s allowed”, but was soon corrected by somebody else who pointed out that men buy sex even if it is forbidden, as for example in Sweden. Another answered: “It’s actually cheaper than ordering a bunch of porn films from abroad. And it’s cheaper than buying drinks in town”. While yet another answered: “I did it because I missed sex and physical closeness with a woman. I was so starved of sex at home”. A younger man describes his buying of sex as follows: Buying sex for me becomes a way of avoiding the bother that chasing women actually means. Besides, I do actually save money on this: I don’t need to maintain the social codes when it comes to alcohol any more. Because of this I’ve completely stopped drinking, and I’ve simply become healthier. Besides, I’m not so sexually frustrated when I get to “ease the pressure” a couple of times a month. (Anonymous 17.09.06)

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In the quote above, buying sex appears as a rational solution, as something that is time and cost efficient. Here, it seems as if the shame associated with frequenting prostitutes is subordinated to, or neutralized, in the encounter with other masculine ideals. The need for security and control, as also the need for closeness and intimacy, are not only described as a necessity, but also as a benef it that one can buy access to. This is expressed by “good prosti tutes” being described as intelligent, kind, warm, caring and cheerful, while “bad” or “unprofessional” prostitutes are described using concepts such as “business oriented”. The same phenomenon is also illustrated by the use of the concept “GFE”, an international abbrevi ation among sex clients for “Girl Friend Experience” ref lecting to what extent the selling party in the commercial sex relation succeeds in creating a “near-girl-friend-like” experience or illusion. In the market-terms characteristic of the discussions on sexhandel. no, where men write about their relation to prostitution, the sex trade is understood to be something mutual, justified and equal, where various needs are satisfied. One party gets sex, while the other party gets money. Here, prostitution is described as a pure commercial transaction, where gender, ethnicity, sexuality, body and money are various forms of capital that can be exchanged in a commercial

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

Us men? What we think? Is that interesting? Around lunch tables at work and in groups of friends, men who buy sex are characterised as “repellent”, “immoral” and “cynical”. We have all heard these discussions. However, if you knew who any of the clients were (…), you would find out that it’s your neighbour, your colleague, perhaps your brother, or others that you know well. What they have in common is probably that all of them once in a while need something that they can’t get “for free”. ”Hektor” 18.05.06 NIKK magasin 1.09

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries market. The market here not only appears as a free zone for men, but also as a sexually free zone, offering other and more sexual roles, which are not similarly available in non-commercial relationships. Descriptions of controlled and organised brothels, where the prosti tutes demand sincerity, cleanliness and intelligence are used to sup port the notion of equality and power balance between seller and buyer, as between the genders. As in other market discourses, there is a dominant view of “the market’s autonomous justness” or “natu ral state”.

A paradox Although many of the men express liberal views of sexual relationships in some contexts, the moral status of women is measured in relation to honesty, sexuality and money in other contexts – regardless of whether they are situated in or outside of the prostitution markets. This is illustrated in the quote below, where we find an underlying story of women, money and sex being a problematic combination. Most the men who have sex can probably be said to have “bought” it in one way or another, too. Some pay cash, others pay in the form of status, expensive car, marriage, safety, good looks etc. Buying prosti tutes is a poor man’s way of getting laid. Kjell Inge Røkke can just wave his credit card, and so persons like Celina Middlefart come running and tell what a soft spot she’s got for authoritarian and powerful men… ordinary men have to use other means. (Nilsen 16.01.06)

Obviously, what we see here are also rhetorical stances typical of the discussion forum; the buyers of sex defend their personal views, as something of their own and special, and as separate from the uni versal, principal and general discussion level. Thus, they can position themselves as liberal on one level, and as conservative on another. They therefore make a distinction between the moral codes for women who are close to them and the codes valid for prostitutes.

Asymmetrical intimacy The paradoxes emerging in the discussions are particularly interesting seen in the light of some men describing the buying of sex as a wish for nearness and intimacy. Such descriptions are expressed despite the fact that estrangement and social distance are the actual basic prin ciples of the commercial market, including the purchasing of sex. While some write that they seek intimacy and emotional nearness through prostitution, others say that they pay in order to avoid the “bother” and “stress” with “ordinary” women. Both types of state ment are expressions of a wish for “asymmetrical intimacy”, where the men are caring objects and/or sexual objects, and where the ser vice they pay for also includes a contract on avoiding the kind of emotional mutuality expected in corresponding non-commercial relationships. Synnøve Jahnsen is cand.polit. at the University of Bergen in Norway and one of the researchers in NIKK’s prostitution project.

This type of problematisation can be interpreted as an attempt at reaching a kind of moral equality, where people in general are not better or worse than men who buy sex, since we are all governed by the same urges. However, the moral criticism is consistently aimed at the women’s partner preferences, and not at the men’s preferences. Thus, a moral paradox emerges, where some rules that pertain to women are not correspondingly valid for men. Such standpoints are challenged by other members of the forum who oppose prosti tution and ask whether the buyers of sex would have such a liberal view if, for example, their daughter, girlfriend or wife sold sex. One man answers: I don’t, for example, want any of my nearest and dearest to work in coal mines, as deep sea divers, do base jumping, or work as a trapeze artist, but I don’t demand that others not choose these jobs because of that. (Mannsyd 05.02.06 )

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sexhandel.no The website sexhandel.no (sextrade) contains information and various forms of texts on prostitution and human trafficking, and an interactive forum where the various aspects of buying sex can be discussed. The site sexhandel.no has been created by the Reform Resource Centre for Men in Oslo, with its own administration and infrastructure. The initiative comprises an expert reference group/expert board and is run by the Norwegian Ministry of Children and Equality as part of the prevention of human trafficking. A general aim is that the site should contribute to reducing the demand for sexual services.

Photo: Istockphoto

Another says: “If it were my girlfriend: the relationship would end there and then”. Even if the buyers of sex on sexhandel.no explain their own buying with the notion that the person they buy the service from, is a ratio nal and active market actor, similar to themselves, they also maintain the view that they would not accept the selling of sex as a rational choice for women close to themselves. This can be interpreted in the light of what Nils Christie discusses in Hvor tett et samfunn? (How closely knit a society?, 1982): that social nearness in interpersonal relationships, in contrast to distance, creates barriers for exploiting or harming other people.

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

“Unfortunately the work we have done has not come as far in Germany. Therefore we find reasons to try to push the debate in Germany forward in this area”, said Bosse Ringholm, then Sports Minister in Sweden. Photo: Bertil Ericson/Scanpix

Europe Nordic countries vs.

The Nordic countries all want to limit prostitution, while several other European countries regard prostitution as a legitimate occupation. by bosse parbring

hen Susanne Dodillet came to Sweden from Ger many ten years ago, she was shocked. Among leftwing German feminists, she had heard that the occupational choice of prostitutes was to be accep ted and that one should campaign for their rights. In Germany, prostitution has had the status of an occupation since 2001. This gives the prostitutes the right to be included in the system for unemployment benefits, health care and pensions. In Sweden, the sex-purchase law that prohibits the buying of sexual services was introduced in 1999. “I found the debate in Sweden one-sided. When I talked about this with my Swedish friends, they thought I was totally crazy.”

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

Why was their view of prostitution so dif ferent, when they shared the same values on so many other issues? The cultural differen ces were obviously greater than she thought at first. Susanne Dodillet decided to study the differences between the Swedish and German views on prostitution. At the beginning of 2009 – ten years after the introduction of the Swedish sex-purchase law – she defended her doctoral thesis on the history of ideas at the University of Gothenburg. There are three aspects that explain the differences between Sweden and Germany, according to Susanne Dodillet: • Attitudes to the welfare state. • Feminist orientations. • The inf luence of religion Let us begin with the welfare state: “In Germany, people are more critical of state interference in people’s private lives. In Sweden, many believe in a strong state con tributing to our norms and values”, explains Susanne Dodillet. On feminism she says: “In Sweden, radical feminism has had a strong impact on feminist ideology. This means that power structures are perceived of in terms of male superiority and female inferiority. In Germany, feminism is more like queer feminism. This, in turn, is connec ted to the common view of the state”. And lastly, on the inf luence of religion: “In Germany, the Christian Democrats have half the seats in Parliament, and thus exert a strong influence on the social debate. The Church opposes prostitution for moral reasons. So, the Christian Democrats are, in a way, in a position reminiscent of that of the feminists in Sweden. Because of the Christian Democrat dominance, it is more legitimate to discuss moral issues in Germany than in Swe den. The German left-wing opinion opposes the moral arguments, and so their view of prostitution is more liberal than in Sweden”.

Hidden Swedish morality Susanne Dodillet emphasizes that in Sweden, not that many people talk openly about norms and values, or stand up for them.

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There is a degrading view of women in early Swedish research. –

Therefore there has been no need for the Left to go through this debate in Sweden. But that is exactly why she thinks there is still an old moralistic view in Sweden. “My research shows that moralistic values have survived in Sweden, too, but they are very much hidden – although nobody is activ ely hiding them. The fact that the sexual legislation originates in traditional Christian sexual morality has gradually been forgotten, which is exemplified by the concept of mora lity disappearing from the Swedish Criminal Code. The ‘morality offences’ were renamed ‘sexual offences’ in Sweden in the 1980s with out the underlying Christian tradition being discussed at all”.

susanne dodillet, researcher

“In Germany, however, there is still an active debate on the significance of morality. The concept is also included in the German legislation. I think the Swedish lack of aware ness is explained by the fact that Christian morals have been openly upheld by relatively few in this country”. Susanne Dodillet is very critical of the Swedish research on prostitution that was carried out in the 1970s and 1980s, and which is the basis for the sex-purchase law. “There is a degrading view of women in early Swedish research. The researchers saw prostitution as a social problem that they wanted to eliminate. But they never talked to the prostitutes. They just regarded them

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

as social problems that were ill and suffering. Even the women who said they felt fine were regarded as social problems”. But Susanne Dodillet is not only critical of Sweden. She also criticizes the fact that German prostitution has now fallen into a legal void. It is legalized, but although Ger man politicians say that prostitution is an occupation, there are no laws ensuring good working conditions. “It is now permitted to open brothels, but there are no regulations on how a brothel is to be run and by whom. Other occupational groups have rights that prevent salary dum ping and ensure safety in the workplace. Pro stitutes in Germany lack all of this. In other words, not even in that country do sex sellers have the same rights as other people.” If Germany has not yet come that far, such an attitude is even more unfamiliar in Swe den. Susanne Dodillet thinks that the various cultural, ideological and political differences between Sweden and Germany explain why politicians often find it difficult to discuss issues on prostitution. The debate is simply at cross-purposes. Swedish politicians can be perceived as arrogant within the European Union when they praise their sex-purchase law, and present it as the only right path. This was the case before the Football World Cup in Germany in 2006, when the Swedish Equal Opportunities Ombudsman and the Swedish Government claimed that Germany had built brothels next to the arenas, where the prostitutes were said to be victims of trafficking. “Unfortunately the work we have done has not come as far in Germany. Therefore we find reasons to try to push the debate in Germany forward in this area”, said Social Democrat Bosse Ringholm, then Sports Min ister in Sweden. However, prostitution is no longer a left-or-right-wing issue in Sweden. In December 2007, Minister Maria Larsson, representing the Christian Democrats, said in a parliamentary debate, referring to the sex-purchase law, that “the struggle for human rights has actually gone one step further in our country than in many other countries”.

One of the politicians who was most active in creating the sex-purchase law was Inger Segelström, who was then Member of Par liament and Chair of the Social Democratic Women in Sweden. Since 2004 she has been a Member of the European Parliament and Vice Chair of the European Social Democratic Women. She does not recognise herself in the explanation provided by Susanne Dodillet. “I think the explanation is to be found elsewhere,” says Inger Segelström.

Support for the Swedish view “What happened in 1994, was that women got half of the seats in Parliament. Before then, there had been no possibility to pass any laws concerning violence against women or similar questions. Subsequently we got the law on violence against women, and later the sex-purchase law”. The first thing Inger Segelström did after having been elected into Parliament in 1994, was to propose a motion on the prohibition of buying sex. It was voted down. But in 1997 she won the support of the Social Democratic Congress for the issue, in 1998 the law was passed in Parliament and it came into force in 1999. Inger Segelström has had similar experi ences in the European Parliament. When she entered in 2004, nobody listened to her when she talked about prostitution. Now she is getting greater support for the Swedish view, to a great extent due to the increasing prob lem with human trafficking. Inger Segelström consistently emphasises the association be

tween the existence of prostitution and traf ficking, which many have previously denied. “I have the support of women’s organisati ons around Europe. Only Germany, the Nether lands and Austria constitute as an exception. All the others recognise the connection be tween prostitution and human trafficking”. “The Football World Cup showed that those who claim there is no connection, are wrong. The Germans were shocked when it turned out that their legal prostitutes were imported women.” “We, the Social Democratic women in Sweden, have actually been proven right in our view that prostitution is a question of power which should be included in the whole gender equality debate”.

We, the Social Democratic women in Sweden, have actually been proven right in our view that prostitution is a question of power. –

inger segelström,

member of the european parliament

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

How much prostitution is there in the Nordic countries? This is a question many would like to know the answer of. by MAY-LEN SKILBREI

hen the social institutions working with the issue of prostitution in different parts of Norway publish annual reports with over views of how many women they have en countered in prostitution, all the main media are eager to cover this as an important piece of news. Headlines like “More prostitutes found” and “Kristiansand swarming with prostitutes” help everybody follow the details of the prostitution market development. Only a few years ago, there was not such a great interest in exactly how many prosti tutes there were; approximate numbers were enough. As the media, politicians, the police and the social services have, in the last few years, become increasingly focused on know ing the exact figures for the extent of prosti tution, it is important to ask what function numbers hold for the understanding and handling of prostitution. One reason why numbers have gained in significance might be that the prostitution markets are undergoing changes which mean

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that politicians, the police, the social services and other actors feel that it is difficult to get an overview of the market, and therefore continuous mapping is needed in order not to lose control of it. Previously “everybody” knew where prostitution took place and which groups could be found where. New groups in prostitution have gone against this predictability by operating outside of the traditional prostitution arenas and by wor king in other ways.

Work should be measured Another reason why it has become so impor tant to present numbers might be that the public debate on prostitution to a large extent centres on how prostitution should be handled. The constantly updated figures that are produced appear as objective measures of the impact of society’s work to counteract the phenomenon. The prostitution markets in the Nordic countries have altered very much over the last ten years. In this period, extensive chan ges have been made in the legislation in all

of the countries, the proportion of foreign women has increased as has organised prosti tution, and shifts between the various areas of the market have taken place. It might be difficult to say anything on the current extent of prostitution and changes in it over time. In Denmark, Tema Prostitution calculated that in 2007 there were 5,567 women in prostitution who had either advertised or encountered social measures aimed at street prostitution. The most recent survey of the extent of prostitution in Finland was conducted in 2005. The data consists of interviews with experts in the field of prostitution, and based on these interviews Kontula concludes that about 8,000 persons sell sex in Finland. It is impossible to know precisely how much prostitution is happening in all the Nordic countries. It is particularly difficult to find out how much prostitution there is in Iceland, since no attempts have been made to estimate the extent at all. In 2007, the Norwegian national compe tence centre Pro Sentret counted 2,654 persons

Photo: Istockphoto

What do numbers tell us?

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

in prostitution in Norway. This number is based on the women encountered in street prostitution by social workers in the larger cities and on the number of advertisements. In Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare recently conducted a survey of knowledge on prostitution in the country. According to interviews with experts wor king on prostitution, there were 299 women in street prostitution in Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg in 2006, and a survey of advertisements on the internet found 247 women and 51 men, and three who did not give their gender.

Photo: Colourbox

Confusing messages Comparing the estimates of each individual country with each other is problematic. There are three important arguments against believing too blindly in the message conveyed by the numbers. Firstly, the way in which prostitution is defined inf luences what is included in the estimates. Often men who sell sex are omitted from the overviews, as if their activities are not prostitution. The police and social services work directly with the visible prostitution, where the exchange of money for sex happens most explicitly, and therefore this area is counted. There is seldom any problemati sation as to where the borders of the prosti tution phenomenon are drawn. Secondly, the number of women who sell sex is just one part of the whole picture; we do still not know how many prostitution transactions take place. We can, of course, also form an idea of the extent of prostitution by counting the customers. This is done today by conducting quantitative studies, where the respondents are asked to answer whether they have bought sex or not. The problem here is that there are many who do not answer these questions; the response rate is very low. Furthermore, the respondents answer both whether they have bought sex in their home country or abroad, so the numbers produced are too imprecise to say anything on how much prostitution is happening in one country. Ideally, the prostitution that Nordic citi zens partake of abroad should also be inclu

ded in the calculation, since the decrease of prostitution in the home country does not ref lect an efficient prostitution policy if, at the same time, the amount of sex-tourism increases. This aspect, however, is very dif ficult to include in the estimates. Thirdly, the numbers are produced in various contexts and are therefore influenced by who is doing the counting and for what purpose. The prostitution that is already visible is also the one that social services and the police have the best overview of. The numbers put together by social insti tutions are characterised by their mission to help the most marginalised groups. The figu res of the police are produced in an attempt to identify criminal involvement of a third party, that is, a procurer or trafficker in humans, which is why they are not, to any greater extent, concerned with the numbers of women in Nordic prostitution generally. If the social work or the measures of the police against prostitution are increased, the number of prostitutes will go up, simply because more frequent contacts with the market means that more prostitutes are observed. If, on the other hand, there are few measures in relation to prostitution and the phenomenon is left to sail on its own, the numbers found will be lower. Thus, the question is whether the num bers are as exact as we would want them to be. And whether they tell us what we would like to know. Particularly since we do not know whether changes in the market are caused by political decision, or by some totally different factors. As the Nordic pro stitution markets have become increasingly international, there are grounds to ask if processes in other places are not crucial for the development of effective measures against prostitution, while local and national politi cal decisions have less of an impact than is currently assumed.

If the social work is increased, the number of prostitutes will go up, simply because more frequent contacts with the market means that more prostitutes are observed.

May-Len Skilbrei is Doctor in Political Sciences, researcher at Fafo in Norway and co-leader of NIKK’s research project Prostitution in the Nordic countries.

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

Mobilising public opinion The population in most of the Nordic countries has, during the last few years, taken an increasingly critical attitude towards prostitution. The media, politicians and interest groups have inf luenced the attitudes of people. by Bosse parbring

n Sweden, there has been a ban on the buying of sexual service for ten years. The law has extensive support among the Swedes – as many as 70 per cent want to keep the sex-purchase law. There are, however, considerable differences between women and men; 79 per cent of the women support the law, while 60 per cent of the men do so. These are results from a recent survey study conducted by Jari Kuosmanen, resear cher in Social Work at the University of Gothenburg, within the framework of NIKK’s prostitution project and with financial sup port from the Swedish Government. Young people and persons born in Sweden have a more positive attitude to the Swedish sex-purchase law. Also among those born abroad, it is primarily the women who sup port the law. But not all women share the same opini on; as many as 83 per cent of women with a high level of education want to keep the law, while the proportion who thinks so among women with a brief education is 63 per cent. However, the Swedes do not only want a ban on buying sex. A majority would also like to forbid the selling of sexual services – wo men particularly take this stance. What is the situation in the other Nordic countries that have not introduced a general

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ban on the buying of sex? In Denmark, where the selling of sex was decriminalized in 1999, an opinion survey conducted in 2002 by the sociologist Claus Lautrup shows that the Danes hold contradictory attitudes towards prostitution. Many accept the phenomenon, but would, nevertheless, like to limit it. There is a general tendency that men accept prostitution and are opposed to society reg ulating it, while women tend to take the opposite stance.

Resistance to law However, a majority (63 per cent of the men and 82 per cent of the women) would want prostitution to be reduced or limited in scope. Half of these think that this should be done by legislation and giving help to the pro stitutes. Interestingly enough, lawyers and policemen had a more sceptical attitude to wards criminalisation, while social workers were more positive. In some later surveys ordered by Danish newspapers, the support for criminalisation was weak. On the contrary, half of the respon dents in one of the surveys wanted prostitu tion to be recognised as an occupation, as it is in Germany. Politicians, authorities and organisations have launched several cam paigns in attempts to inf luence the Danish opinion in a direction more critical towards

prostitution. This seems to have worked. In a survey, ordered by the newspaper Politiken at the end of 2006, the proportion who thought prostitution to be an unacceptable part of society had increased from 25 to 42 per cent. 22 per cent of the respondents supported a prohibition of prostitution.

Support for a sex-purchase law In Norway, a law banning the buying of sex ual services came into force in 2009. There has been an intense debate for and against the law in the last years. In Norway, too, there is a big difference between the opinions of women and of men. Several studies con ducted by newspapers over the last few years show that a majority of women support a sex-purchase law, while a minority of men do so. The law has a larger degree of support among those who live in Oslo than in other parts of the country. In 2006, prostitution attracted a lot of media attention because of its growing visi bility caused by the increased proportion of foreign prostitutes. Several studies conducted that year show a tendency towards greater support for a sex-purchase law. In Iceland, the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies conducted an opinion survey on gender equality in 2003. In the survey, 60 per cent of the men and 69 per cent of the

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

women answered that the buying of sex should be illegal. An even larger proportion opposed the recognition of prostitution as an occupation (67 per cent of the men and 92 per cent of the women). A study made in 2007 showed that 70 per cent of Icelanders wanted a sex-purchase law. Here, as in many other countries, the gender difference is considerable; 83 per cent of the women want to prohibit the buying of sex, while 57 per cent of the men do so. Thus, a big change in attitudes has taken place among the women, but not among the men. Finland was on the road towards a general ban against the buying of sex, but in the end, as the result of a political compromise, a ban which only concerns buying sex from victims of human trafficking was introduced at the end of 2006. The Finns probably hold the most permissive attitude towards prostitu tion in all the Nordic countries. According to the gender equality barometers of 2004 and 2008, almost 60 per cent of the men and a little over 30 per cent of the women accepted the buying of sex from a prostitute. No con siderable changes have happened during the four intervening years. Compared to surveys in the 1990s, it seems instead that the Finnish attitudes towards prostitution have become more tolerant in the 2000s.

Photo: Reden International/www.redeninternational.dk

Influence public opinion Attitudes towards prostitution do not emerge in a vacuum. The media, politicians, autho rities and interest groups try to inf luence public opinion in various ways, and, at the same time, they are dependent on the public attitudes in order to take the issue in the direction they want. In Denmark, Reden has been an important actor in the debate, according to Jeanett Bjøn ness, doctoral student at Aarhus University in Denmark. Reden is an organisation with help points for prostitutes and it has conduc ted several campaigns against prostitution and trafficking in humans. Reden regards prostitution as violence against women and is therefore an active advocate for the crimi nalisation of prostitution customers. In one

Reden regards prostitution as violence against women and is therefore an active advocate for the criminalisation of prostitution customers. In one of its campaigns, the organisation used an image of ten naked women who had been packed as meat for sale in the cold counter.

of its campaigns, the organisation used an image of ten naked women who had been packed as meat for sale in the cold counter. The will to criminalise the buying of sex is a historical turning point in Norway, in the opinion of Synnøve Jahnsen at the University of Bergen. She has analysed the Norwegian media debate on prostitution. Earlier, pro stitution was, to a large degree, regarded as a social problem to be countered through social measures. But, in a short period of time, several political parties have changed their attitude. The reason for this has been the descriptions in the media of the increasingly foreign and more visible street prostitution.

“The largest Nordic whore street” The papers describe the growing visible pro stitution with large headlines: “Prostitution frolics freely” and “The largest Nordic whore street” about the most famous street in Oslo, Karl Johans gate. Letters to the editor depict Oslo as being turned into a slum by homeless people, beg gars and prostitutes. Trade and industry think that visible prostitution is “bad for business”.

Pro Sentret, a national competence centre on prostitution, opposes a sex-purchase law and, in a contribution to the debate, points out that the claim that prostitution would have increased explosively is wrong. It is more a question of prostitution having chan ged form and become more visible in the public space.

Broad debate The criminalisation debate has been broad and comprised many different aspects. Syn nøve Jahnsen distinguishes three different main positions in the debate: • A ban sends a moral signal to men that society does not accept the buying of sex. • Norwegian legislation takes the fight against human trafficking seriously and does not want to appear as a liberal free zone for pimps. • Maintenance of the view that prostitu tion should be tackled by social-political means and not through criminalpolitical measures.

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

An increasing number of foreign prostitutes come to the Nordic countries. This changes the focus of social measures and affects specific groups of national prostitutes, among others, men, who have ended up forming ‘the blind spot’. by Anette Dina Sørensen

Men Social measures

on the periphery

n the Nordic countries, prostitution is defined as a social problem, which is first and foremost to be tackled through social measures, write May-Len Skilbrei and Charlotte Holmström in the final report of the project Prostitution in the Nordic countries, which they headed. However, the ways in which the measures are structured and administered vary between the countries, not least because of differences in their pro stitution legislation. In Denmark and Norway, where procu ring is forbidden, but the buying and selling of sexual services are not punishable, social measures are mainly characterised by damage limitation. In Sweden, where the buying of sexual services has been forbidden since 1999, social measures are primarily aimed at redu cing prostitution and at getting women and men to leave the occupation. In Norway, social measures are provided by both public and private establishments. Most of them primarily work with street pro

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stitution, but in recent years, contacts have also been established with prostitutes wor king indoors. The Norwegian Pro Senter focuses on da mage limitation and on the rights of the prostitutes. Their working methods consist of short meetings, including distribution of condoms and lubricants, and the provision of relevant information. The private organisation Kirkens Bymission (Church City Mission), on the other hand, offers more extensive discussions and home calls. Even if they, too, work from a damage limitation perspective, their main emphasis is on helping women out of prostitution. Looking at Sweden, a major part of the social measures are organised by the so-called prostitution units subordinate to municipal authorities in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. They do visiting work at street level, but also offer individual, therapeutic and long-term treatment in combination with web-based counselling and social support.

Information dissemination is also included in the work of the prostitutions units. They cooperate with the police, who focus on the customers, while the workers at the prosti tution units take care of the social measures in relation to the women.

Transnational prostitution Seen from a historical perspective, social mea sures in the Nordic countries have mainly been aimed at national prostitution, but the considerable changes in the global prostitu tion market over the last ten years, which have led to increased transnational prostitu tion, have challenged their scope and forced the Nordic countries to refocus. May-Len Skil brei describes some of the consequences: “Norwegian prostitutes are under pressure by the presence of foreign prostitutes in the country. They must, for example, be more mobile in order to get customers. At the same time, they have become less visible in terms of the application social measures over the

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

last few years, since these to a large extent now turn their attention to visible street prostitu tion and foreign prostitutes,” she points out. The fact that the Nordic countries focus almost exclusively on adult women, inclu ding women in transnational prostitution, affects other groups of prostitutes. Thus, male prostitutes are on the periphery of so cial measures; they form what May-Len Skil brei calls ‘the blind spot’.

Photo: Istockphoto

Difficult to trace Since they seldom advertise, they are difficult to trace. The measures aimed specifically at them are scarce, as is knowledge of their par ticular needs for counselling and support. In Finland, the social measures are arran ged by the NGO Pro-Tukipiste in Helsinki. The organisation also has a special programme for men in prostitution, which is based on damage limitation. In Denmark, men in prostitution can, simi larly to female prostitutes, use the letterbox

on the website of Kompetencecenter for prostitution, their anonymous phone counselling and therapeutic discussion groups. The activities of the Swedish prostitution units are also aimed at men in prostitution, but, contrary to the situation in Finland, existing measures are basically designed with women in mind. There are signs that support for male pro stitutes has decreased because of the growth in transnational prostitution. The Norwegian Pro Senter had to make changes in their acti vities in 2007 and give lower priority to the work aimed at men in prostitution as a con sequence of the increasing number of foreign prostitutes in Norway. According to Inger Björne-Fagerli, who has written her Master’s thesis at the University of Oslo on male prostitution, there is no rea son to believe that the number of male pro stitutes is small. Even if the blind number is large, several studies conducted among very young people in Iceland, Norway and Sweden indicate that the number of boys who have

experiences of selling sex is larger than the number of girls with this experience.

Criminalisation of customers In 2009, the buying of sexual services will become punishable in Norway. May-Len Skil brei thinks, however, that the possible crimi nalisation will be successful only if the leg islation does not lead to the cancelling of social measures. ”Much of what has already been done in that area has a positive impact,” she thinks. “The number of prostitutes is not increa sing, so something is at work here. Therefore it’s crucial that the legislation must not over rule the social measures, and that the Nor wegian State follows up the legislation with social action plans, so that the constant atten tion that the area has attracted over the last 15 years will continue.” Anette Dina Sørensen is freelance journalist specialising in gender research.

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

“There is more talk about controlling prostitution than from the perspectives of the prostitutes themselves. This is typical for the Nordic countries.” These were the words of Jaana Kauppinen from the Finnish organisation Pro-tukipiste. By Bosse Parbring

Heated debate D

uring the conference Prostitution in the Nordic Countries, held in Stockholm, Sweden 16–17 Oct ober 2008, and arranged by the Nordic Council of Ministers and NIKK, a heated debate arose. Jaana Kauppinen is Director of the Finnish NGO Pro-Tukipiste, which works for the bene fit of prostitutes. “In the Nordic countries, prostitutes are victims. We don’t talk about empowerment. That kind of activity is lacking. Instead of supporting prostitutes, we have made them a problem which undermines the order of our society,” claims Jaana Kauppinen. “When we talk about procuring, the pro stitute becomes an object useful for getting hold of the criminals. Unfortunately this is also the case when it comes to human traf ficking. The prostitutes become objects rather than people we should help.” “I’m a bit doubtful as to that description,” says Sven-Axel Månsson, Professor of Social Work at Malmö University in Sweden. “I have a feeling that the women are en countered as subjects.” “The response we get from our clients is that they are stigmatised by some social ser

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vices,” says Jaana Kauppinen. “There is much also in our work that needs to be discussed.” Jaana Kauppinen thinks that the Nordic countries should turn their gaze more towards themselves in order to explore what features of the Nordic welfare societies make things difficult for prostitutes instead of helping them in their situation. “More research is needed – but why should the prostitutes provide information about themselves, when it’s turned against them?” The empowerment work of Pro-tukipiste primarily focuses on attitudes. “We don’t know what the prostitutes need, but they themselves do. A person descri bes what she needs, and then we work out what we can do and what we can’t do. The important thing is that people themselves own the issue.”

Opposes the law Member of the Norwegian Parliament Inga Marte Thorkildsen from the Socialist Left Party opposes the law for criminalising the buying of sex, which the Parliament is about to take a decision on. “My party stands behind the law, and I bend to that. But I wish we could have hand

led the issue differently. The reason why the Norwegian opinion has turned so sharply lately towards criminalisation is that a group of Nigerian women has come to Norway and they have been both active and visible,” says Inga Marte Thorkildsen. “I think there are strong tendencies to wards creating a society divided into ‘us’ and ‘them’. This tendency originates from among both conservative and socialist feminists. I myself am a socialist feminist, and I’m very disappointed. Nobody listens to the prosti tutes themselves. They are described either as victims or as disturbing elements.” “I find it very important that the lawis followed up by research and that the politici ans should not simply sit back now,” says Inga Marte Thorkildsen. “It’s easy for politicians to pass laws and believe that that’s enough.” “In my heart, I’m for criminalisation, but in my head I’m against it. I hope things will go well anyway.” “It’s not surprising that prostitutes oppose this law,” says Katarina Storalm from the Norwegian women’s organisation Ottar. “The basis for their livelihood is taken away. There fore it’s important that society must provide support for them.”

Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

Facts or opinions? Director Jaana Kauppinen from Finland and politician Inga Marte Thorkildsen

The debate in Denmark has also changed in character over the last few years, and is now inclined towards an attitude of wanting to criminalise the buying of sex. Nell Rasmus sen from the Danish National Board of Social Services, which is assigned by the Govern ment to work on knowledge and social meas ures in the area of prostitution, thinks that the debate has been ideologised. “The public debate says that foreign pro stitution has exploded, and that all women are victims of human trafficking. It’s also claimed that women in prostitution have been sexually assaulted in childhood. It’s difficult to find a more perfect victim.” “The problem with the debate is that there are hardly any empirical grounds at all for what is being said,” Nell Rasmussen points out. “The debate is therefore void of facts and only based on opinion. Very little new research has been produced lately in the field.” In the 1990s, strip-tease clubs were estab lished in Iceland, which in practice function as brothels. But this spring, a law was intro duced which makes it forbidden to appear naked among restaurant patrons. Drifa Snædd, Party Secretary in the Icelandic Left-Green

Party, would have preferred a law similar to the Swedish sex-purchase law. “Even if there are some who are prosti tutes of their own free will, the cost is too high for other women.” “I regard prostitution from a gender equa lity perspective. That is, that there is a con nection between prostitution, violence in the home, pornography and unequal salaries. The Icelandic financial crisis has forced gen der equality issues to take several steps back,” claims Drifa Snædd.

No room for gender equality “Now there is no room for being politically correct. Gender equality issues are marginalised. There is no room for such trivial questions. Now, we see the real position of these issues.” “We know that when Finland went through a economic crisis in the early 1990s, prostitu tion increased. We will certainly see the same thing happening in Iceland now. So gender equality issues are as important as ever.” The law prohibiting restaurant staff appea ring naked might have a certain effect on the strip-tease clubs and thus on prostitution. “It has a preventive effect, since the show

from Norway, two of the panel members. Photo: Bosse Parbring

window for prostitution disappears,” says Drifa Snædd. “There is a radically different way, which is not about accusing the prostitutes – and that is to criminalise the buying of sex,” says Sven-Axel Månsson. “I hope you are right,” replies Inga Marte Thorkildsen. “But we mustn’t think that criminalisation is a f lagship solving everything.” “The f lagship doesn’t have only one sail,” Sven-Axel Månsson points out. “There is a criminalisation sail and there is a helping sail. Helping doesn’t mean that the prosti tutes are victimised.” “But we must also realise that there are those who do not want that help,” says Inga Marte Thorkildsen. “I’m afraid we sometimes forget the thing that Karl Marx called false awareness,” says Sven-Axel Månsson. “There is sometimes a tendency to idealise the attitudes represented by the weaker ones. It’s not a given that all prostitutes stand for their own truth.”

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

Human trafficking

Demands for better protection The fight against human trafficking is a very topical and hot theme in the Nordic social debate. Often the issue of prostitution is reduced to being only a question of trafficking in humans. by anne winsnes rĂ¸dland

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

“Human trafficking and prostitution are often confused in the social debate, parti cularly among those who want to criminalise the buying of sex. Some describe all foreign prostitutes as victims of human trafficking, which is not the case. Others describe all prostitutes as exploited. That is not the case, either,” says Senior Consultant Nell Rasmus sen at the Danish Centre for Research on Social Vulnerability (DCR/SV) at the National Board of Social Services. The Board is a subdivision of the Ministry of Social Affairs, and prostitution, among other issues, is included in its areas of res ponsibility. Last year Rasmussen published a book on prostitution and she is member of the EU Expert Group on Trafficking in Human Beings. She has also participated in the preparation of a new strategy for comba ting human trafficking within the Nordic co-operation. “Everybody agrees that human trafficking is serious crime that must be prevented, but there is not the same agreement when it comes to prostitution in general,” explains

Finnish researcher Anne-Maria Marttila at the Helsinki University, Department of Social Science History. She participated in NIKK’s research project on prostitution in the Nordic countries, which was completed recently. “Particularly when discussing the crimi nalisation of buying sex, the concepts of human trafficking and of prostitution are confused. The supporters of criminalisation regard such a law as an important measure in the struggle against trafficking in hu mans,” she continues. In Sweden, the purchase of sexual services was prohibited on 1 January 1999. In Nor way, a similar proposition was discussed by the Parliament in November, and the law will come into force on 1 January 2009. In Den mark, no such prohibiting law exists. “I do, however, think that the arguments for a ban on buying sex are reasonable in relation to those who traffick in human beings. When the buying of sex is forbid den, it is financially less profitable to send prostitutes into the country. Therefore such legislation might contribute to reducing

Victims of human trafficking. The movie Lilja 4-ever about 16 year old Lilja, from the former Soviet Union, who was sold to Sweden as a prostitute. Photo: Memfis film

human trafficking in relation to prostitu tion,” says Rasmussen. “But there might be other, essential grounds for not criminalising prostitution,” she adds. Finland has its own version of the sexpurchase law, which has been in force since 1 October 2006. It is only forbidden to buy sexual services from victims of human traf ficking or procuring. “Nobody has so far been convicted for breaking this law. According to the police, this is not only due to lack of resources. There are also problems with the evidence: For somebody to be suspected for having committed such a crime, there must be docu mentation that the person knew that the prostitute was victim of procuring or human trafficking,” Marttila explains.

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Focus: Prostitution in the Nordic countries

Conflict with migration laws In Denmark, victims of human trafficking basically come under the migration legisla tion. This means that the persons are sent back to their home country. Nell Rasmussen underlines that they are only sent out from the country, not deported. “In addition, they have had a ref lection period of 30 days before being sent home. Now it is possible to extend this period to 100

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There have been a few cases where victims who have given evidence have not received a residence permit. –

eva frivold, support lawyer

days, if there are particular grounds for this. They then have the opportunity to co-operate with the police to prepare for their return home. In the meantime, they are protected in crisis centres or in special safe houses for victims of human trafficking,” Rasmussen explains. There is no obligation to co-operate with the police for solving the case in order to get an extended reflection period, but the persons must co-operate about their return home. Nevertheless, the victims are often called to witness in court, so that their evidence can be used in a case. In Norway, the Ministry for Labour and Social Inclusion recently sent an instruction to the Directorate of Immigration which says that victims who have testified in serious criminal cases on human trafficking should,

Anne Winsnes Rødland is a journalist and former Information Officer at NIKK.

Photo: VG

Even if it is, so far, difficult to say very much on the effects of the law, it might seem that it has had an impact for traditional Fin nish prostitutes. They have probably become more attractive for clients who do not want to break the law. “Based on a study I conducted of Finnish prostitution clients before the law was intro duced, I think that the sex-purchase law has greater effect on people who seldom buy sex. The permanent clients are more knowledge able about the practices in the market, and surer about their ability to avoid being caught,” Marttila assumes. Nell Rasmussen warns against reducing human trafficking to prostitution. “A sex-purchase law does not obstruct the abuse of women, men and children in other contexts. There are many types of immi grants and many ways of exploiting people. For example, both builders from Eastern Europe and girls working as au pairs might live in circumstances akin to slavery,” she points out.

as a rule, get a permanent residence and work permit in the country. Support Lawyer Eva Frivold is pleased that the legislation will now give the victims better protection. She has previously made radical statements that she will not recom mend victims of human trafficking to testify unless they are promised a residence permit in Norway. “There have been a few cases where vic tims who have given evidence have not recei ved a residence permit. It is obvious that they would not have testified, had they known that they would be denied the permit. They fear reprisals when they are sent back to their home country,” she says. “Of course they fear retaliation in Nor way, too. But here we have an efficient wit ness protection programme. It is a totally different system of caring for them than in their home countries. In addition, they have to start from scratch if they are sent back. Psychological support, safe accommodation and general follow-up are not very common,” Frivold continues. In Finland, victims of human trafficking can be given a special residence permit if they co-operate in solving the case. They are first given a ref lection period of between 30 days and 6 months in order to find out whether they want to co-operate with the authorities. “Practitioners have, however, argued that the threshold for being given a ref lection period should be lowered, and that the prac tices must be better defined so that victims dare contact the authorities,” Marttila says. Victims of human trafficking typically suffer a psychological blow afterwards, and need to be followed up for several years. “In Norway, we try to give them psycho logical help as soon as possible. Many stay at a crisis centre for a long time. Even when they move to a f lat of their own, many continue their counselling at the centre. They also get help with practical matters that they cannot cope with themselves”, Frivold explains. She would like to see specific centres for victims of human trafficking established, where they could stay after they move out from the crisis centres, and receive professio nal follow-up help for several years.

column

Eva Magnusson Professor of Psychology Eva Magnusson is Professor of Psychology at Umeå University, Sweden. She has among other things studied Danish, Finnish and Swedish women and men and their joint stories about themselves as couples and families with children. She has also been Research Director at NIKK.

How politics re-invents inequality

hen I was young (more years ago than I care to remember) many were convinced that when the old geezers then in power in politics, corporations and universities retired, that would mean the end of gende red inequality. There have indeed been impressive changes since then, not least in the Nordic countries. All the same, inequality seems to be re-made again and again, in many socie tal arenas and in ever-changing forms. This re-invented and re-shaping of inequality in the midst of increasing equality intrigues feminist researchers, especially researchers interested in variations in the meanings tied to the terms involved. A few years ago, a group of Nordic re searchers formed a network around their common critical interest in the ways that words such as gender and equality are given meaning and play themselves out in gender equality legislation, policies and practices in these countries. These scholars argue that such meanings are continually made – that is, produced and re-produced – in more or less unequal relations between individuals, groups and structures. Since in this meaning-making the words are sometimes made to serve less than wholesome purposes, the details of how dominant notions of gender and

gender equality are created and upheld seem worthy of study. Such meaningmaking occurs at all societal levels, in most cultural arenas, and in ever change able intersections. Details about how certain meanings are made dominant and legitimate – and con sequently others become marginal and illegitimate – might tell us why equality policies do not always have their projected results. The researchers in our network have traced a great number of such ”mea ning details” and their often not so small consequences. Here are a few examples: In national and regional politics, the meaning of the term gender equality often gets shifted away from its original sense of being about power relations between men and women. In this shift, often both the power dimension and the impetus to ad vance the position of women vanish from the term, in favour of a hetero-romantic image of harmony and conf lictlessness. Since such images tend to be ethnocentric as well, they create serious confusion of meaning in political situations when ”Nor dic” cultural practices increasingly encoun ter ”other” cultural practices. In some countries, national equality policies have been sharpened to include quota rules that stipulate the minimum proportion of women in political assemblies (usually 40 per cent). However, when such

policies are to be implemented in appoin ting local assemblies, it is not unusual for the quota rules to be discussed and given meaning in the local context in ways that make them seem unpleasant and unappe tizing or even undemocratic. This local rhetoric can make it difficult or impossible to realise the original intentions of the legi slators to increase the number of women in the assemblies. When women and men in the Nordic countries talk about their daily lives, they often employ contradictory meanings of the terms man, woman, femininity, mascu linity and gender equality. Thus, for many heterosexual couples, traditional and un equally gendered meanings subvert expres sed favourable general notions about equa lity, in ways that seem to limit the possible success of gender equality politics in the private sphere. The network has gathered the results of its work together in a book. Thus, I, together with Malin Rönnblom and Har riet Silius of Åbo Akademi University in Finland, are proud to be the editors of the anthology Critical Studies of Gender Equa lities: Nordic Dislocations, Dilemmas and Con tradictions (Makadam Publishers, Stock holm/Göteborg 2008). We welcome you to share our fascina tion with the often very materially gende red impact of words and meanings!

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Research news send tip-offs to bosse.parbring@nikk.uio.no

(E)QUALITY 2009

norway

Nordic conference on gender equality in research

Earmarking is back

Quality in research is important. But what do we actually mean by quality? How can it be measured and strengthened? And what role does gender play in this? The relation between gender equality and quality in research will be the main theme at the Nordic conference on research policy: (E)QUALITY 2009, which will be held in Oslo, March 23-24, 2009. A number of key actors within research policy and prominent researchers from the Nordic countries and the rest of Europe are invited to discuss gender equality in academia, the concept of excellence and the outstanding research of the future. The programme comprises, among other things, a panel debate with representatives from the national research councils in the Nordic countries.

the nordic countries

Society for research on men The Nordic academic environment for research into men and masculinities has founded its first society. In January 2009, the first board of the Nordic Society for Research on Men and Masculinities was appointed at the conference “Changing Men and Masculinities in Gender Equal Societies” at Roskilde University in Denmark. One concrete action of the Society will be holding bi-annual Nordic conferences on research into men and masculinities. In addition, a central task of the Society will be to take over the publication of NORMA – Nordic Journal for Masculinity Studies. Since 2005, NIKK has been responsible for publishing the journal. Membership in the society includes a subscription to NORMA, which is published twice a year as bilingual issues in Scandinavian and English. Steen Baagøe Nielsen, PhD, Roskilde University, was elected as the first Chair of the Society, and he spoke at the founding general assembly: “We need a formalisation and democratisation of the existing Nordic networks within this research area. We should, of course, not exaggerate the significance of such a society, but be realistic about it developing into a solid alternative to the present national networks in the Nordic countries.”

NIKK magasin 1.09

According to the Norwegian Minister for Research, Tora Aasland, this year posts within Norwegian academia will be earmarked for women. Especially posts at intermediate level will be established particularly for women. The Committee for Mainstreaming – Women in Science has demanded such research and the Government now submits to the Committee’s suggestions. “We used earmarking as a tool in the 1990s, and I think that is the reason why there were so many women in post-doc posts when the system was dismantled in 2003,” says Tora Aasland on kvinneriforskning.no. The earmarking was abolished since it was regarded as going against the EES Agreement. The EFTA Court opposed the earmarking of professorships. Therefore Tora Aasland wants to concentrate on doctoral and post-doc posts for women.

“We need to focus on intermediate posi tions in areas where there are few women today. We’re working on finding ways how best to do this. We need to recruit women to doctoral student posts, but we also need to recruit women to top positions,” says Tora Aasland.

Finland

New information centre Now Finland, too, will get an information centre for gender equality. The Parliament has decided that an Information Service is to be created in 2009. The need has been pointed out repeatedly, but only now the Finnish Government and Parliament have chosen to allocate the mo ney needed. The Information Service will receive 180,000 euros in 2009.

The tasks of the Information Service will include producing information on gender equality, furthering development and re search in the field and gender mainstreaming in the most common information sources. In addition, the Information Service will func tion as a contact forum between the European Institute for Gender Equality and Finland. The Information Service will be located in Tampere.

editorial

Solveig Bergman D.Soc.Sc. and Director of NIKK

Financial crisis – does gender matter?

Illustration: simonox/iStock.com

t’s January 2009. The centre of Rey kjavik looks much the same as always; the main shopping street, Laugar vegur, f lourishes with its exclusive shops and fancy restaurants that cater to all tastes. On the surface the Icelan dic capital still appears extremely wealthy. Behind the prosperous façade lurks, how ever, a different reality. The luxury shops are mostly empty, except for foreign visitors hunting for cut-price bargains. Reykjavik has become quiet and empty. The country’s financial sector has collapsed. People are justifiably worried about their jobs, homes, personal savings and pensions. In Iceland as elsewhere the current cri sis is not without implications for gender, class or ethnicity. The conditions that have given rise to this crisis are clearly anchored in existing divisions and inequities within society. Although it is primarily the indu strial sector that has been affected hitherto, there are signs that the crisis will spread to the non-financial services sector and that it will eventually also impact the public sector. Women are in especially vulnerable positions during financial downtowns, both globally and in the Nordic societies. Many feminists express the fear of a systematic rolling back of gender equality and women’s rights in times of financial turbulence. The male breadwinner model is still a powerful norm in society. The emphasis is on the need to protect male jobs. Gender equality is easily considered a “luxury product” that we can afford in good times, but that can be put aside during a recession when “real jobs” should be provided for “real men”. But the crisis can also enhance gender equality. Economic turmoil can be exactly

the right time for a breakthrough in inno vations and bold new ideas that may con tribute to a restructuring of gender rela tions within the family and in the larger society. The financial crisis can result in stronger demands for women to enter into positions of political and economic leader ship, as well as into entrepreneurial acti vity. Iceland gives us good examples of this, including the recent appointment of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir as the first female Prime Minister of the country. The world-famous singer and song-writer Björk has, together with a capital venture firm established by two women, started a fund that will invest in companies that are socially and environ mentally responsible and will help the reco very of the Icelandic economy. The philo sophy of the firm is to invest in women’s economic power and entrepreneurship, in innovation, creative thinking and increased diversity in the economy. It remains to be seen whether the world

wide crisis gives hope for a new balance in society – with less gaps between income groups, classes, ethnic groups, women and men. But already today we can claim that the crisis has led to one positive thing: the culture of excessive greed and consumerism, where a small group of people (mostly men with a similar social and ethnic background) have received gigantic bonuses and exces sive options as rewards, is increasingly questioned. People are demanding a shift of paradigm. Catarina af Sandeberg (advisor to the former Social Democratic govern ment in Sweden on a law proposal that aimed to increase the share of women in company boards) has recently pointed out in Veckans Affärer that we need to discuss social responsibility and the ethical dimen sion of the financial crisis. The world of finance has been overwhelmingly male. We may ask, as does af Sandeberg, whether “Lehman Sisters” would have taken risks similar to those taken by their brothers?

NIKK magasin 1.09

Next issue

Focus:

Climate change and gender equality Men and women have very different carbon footprints. Climate changes affect men and women differently. Women are rarely involved in the decision-making processes when development and strategies are drawn up. Read more in the next issue of NIKK magasin which is focusing on climate change and gender equality.

Do you like to have a copy of your own? Order a free subscription at www.nikk.no!

B PB 1156 Blindern, NO-0317, Oslo, Norway

Calendar 2009 23.3-24.3 (E)QUALITY 2009 Nordic conference in Oslo, Norway, on gender equality in research. www.nikk.no 26.3-28.3 Welfare and Values in Europe: Transitions related to religion, minorities and gender. Conference in Uppsala, Sweden. www-conference.slu.se/wave09 27.4-29.4 Men and Masculinities, Moving On! Embodiments, Virtualities, Transnationalisations. Conference in Linköping, Sweden. www.genderexcel.org/node/179 18.5-19.5 Women in Academia – Barriers and Good Practice. Conference in Aarhus, Denmark. www.wia.au.dk 4.6-7.6 Gendered Cultures at the Crossroads of Imagination, Knowledge and Politics. 7th European feminist research conference, Utrecht, Netherlands. www.7thfeministconference.org 14.6-16.6 Challenging Education: Feminist and AntiOppressive Strategies in Teaching and Learning. Nordic conference on feminist pedagogies, Uppsala, Sweden.

PB 1156 Blindern, NO-0317, Oslo, Norway Telephone +47 22 85 89 21 Telefax: +47 22 85 89 50 nikk@nikk.uio.no www.nikk.no

5.8-8.8 Changing the Gender Order. 6th conference on gender equality in higher education, Stockholm, Sweden. MORE CONFERENCES AT