Crime is a gendered arena. Women criminals are still rare, although more common than before in Norway. Out of a total of 300 000 sentences passed in 2004, 80 percent were handed down to men and 20 percent to women. Women are found guilty of less serious crimes than men and receive fewer prison sentences.

 

Using violence is a crime in Norway. Gender based violence encompasses a wide range of human rights violations, including sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment, the trafficking and prostitution of women and children as well as several harmful traditional practices.

Mostly women are victims of gender based violence. During 2009, a total of 2 100 cases of ill-treatment in family relations were reported.  77 percent of the victims of domestic violence, including the servere domestic violence, were women. And 85 percent of the victims of sexual crime were women. A total of 4 200 sexual offences were reported to the police in 2009; 7 per cent more than the previous year.

 

In Norway, the women’s movement and researchers have together played an active role in placing the issue on the socio-political agenda. And gender based violence has gradually gained recognition as a serious societal problem and a matter of concern for the State. Gender based violence both reflects and reinforces inequalities between men and women. It compromises the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims. Male violence against women and children is now acknowledged as a hindrance for achieving gender equality in Norway. Currently, gender based violence in relation to ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and disabilities are being focused upon.

 

The Norwegian Government is developing and designing measures to eliminate and prevent gender based violence. Several plans of action have been developed. In implementing a holistic, co-ordinated and integrated approach to the work against gender based violence, attention needs to be paid to the perpetrators.