NOT SO IDYLLIC

One in 10 Women in Norway Raped

Despite country’s famous egalitarian successes.

Norway is in a dead heat with its Scandinavian neighbors for the distinction of most gender-equal society in the world. But it has just as bad a problem with rape as much less equal countries: one in 10 Norwegian women over 15 years old have been raped. Eighty percent of cases are never reported, and of the ones that are, only 10 percent end in a conviction. Most of the abuse is happening at home: Norway does not explicitly criminalize spousal rape, unlike most developed countries, including the U.S. Experts told The New York Times that the country’s high rate of sexual violence could be a “last stand” of male dominance in a society where gender power has been redistributed.