NEW PROJECT ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN NORWAY

No country for women is an project under process that aims to show that unfortunately there is not a country where women can feel safe. Even in one of the safest countries, with the highest levels of equality in the world such as Norway, there are still girls and women who might be attacked, humiliated, molested, raped or murdered by men.



In Norway there are women who have been objectified or seen as a sexual object for Norwegian men. “No country for women” aims to break the silence around the topic and let their voices be heard.

De sier..  (2013) Intends to reveal what kind of phrases men use to objectify women.

Strategier (2013) Shows the different kinds of strategies that women use to protect themselves when they go out.

De er ikke monstre (2013) Reveals that men who commit violence against women are not monsters, they are “normal guys”.

The objective is for more women to join the project and share their stories, which can be completely anonymous, to afterward be showed in an exhibition. It is not important to do so an artistic way. The importance is to break the silence and speak up. Only when we, as a whole society see the problem, can the whole society take measures to face it and solve it. 

DE ER IKKE MONSTRE (They are not monsters)

This piece aims to break the silence of violence against women. People think that only bad men or men with mental or physical disorders can commit violence against women. But first we need to define what violence is, and what kind of violence women have to experience in their daily life.

This video shows different kinds of violence against women. All of them were committed by Norwegian men. These men might be your colleagues; they might be seated next to you on the bus, or in the park, or maybe smiled to you during a gathering. They are not monsters; they were friends, boyfriends, or a new acquaintance of the victims.

STRATEGIER (Strategies)

“Strategies” wants to visualize all the energy, effort and time that girls and women invest every time they want to go out.

They have to be aware about space, time and company.

They have to measure the consequences of many of their decisions.

They have to think about strategies than can help them in case something happens.

This video art was made after meeting with several girls and women who experienced violence but did not want to have their voice recorded. What they all have in common are the situations where their bodies could have been/ were attacked.

Men can be drunk and sleep in a park but for girls and women that it is a risk that they had better not take. Therefore they need to have strategies (to survive).

DE SIER... (They say...)

“They say” is a criticism of the objectification of women by men. Many men see women as objects and feel that they have the right to comment on their appearance or ask them to do things for their pleasure.

These pictures show some of the phrases that Norwegian women have heard from Norwegian men. Some were said in private places, public places during the night when people are going out to drink, or in night clubs.

Men who said these phrases are normal guys. One was a boyfriend; another was a random guy on the street, another a guy who was with his gang, another one was going to a party, etc. For that reason, to show the normal guys, the pictures were taken in the University campus Dragvoll with random guys who wanted to help with the projects.

They understood the importance of speaking up and wanted to participate. They carry the phrases that other Norwegian men have said. And yes, men who say these kind of things look like a normal guy.

Du får ikke gå forbi før du a sugd mæ!
(You can not pass before you have sucked me!)

Din blåøyde bortkjemte blondine!!!

Din lille hore! (Whore!)

Han spurte om vi kunne ha samleie foran vennene hans så
han kunne bevise overfor dem at han hadde hatt samleie ...
(He asked me if we could have intercourse in front of  his
 friends so he could showed them that he had had sex)